24
by Aspirator
Summary: Sakura has nowhere to run and the enemy's closing in. Takashi must expose the truth, but his reputation stands in the way. Yue is faced with a mission, in which both success and failure lead to dire consequences. The one thing they have in common? 24 hours: no more, no less. AU Magic. SS CT.
1. At The Zeroth Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Zeroth Hour**

* * *

**11:16 PM**

Takashi knew it was too good to be true when he started 12 years ago at the best publishing firm in Carlisle City. For one, their elevators sucked.

"Ten." Takashi repeated with a scowl, looking up at the masses of blue and grey above him. The elevator was designed to be voice-activated, looked like a single cylindrical strip of meteor showers, and as fast as light. Or that's how they advertised it. "TEN!" Takashi yelled again. Most advanced 25th century technology, his ass. This dang elevator needs a maintenance -

Abruptly, Takashi's stomach dropped. After a blink, a portal opened before him to reveal the tenth floor as he had requested. "Finally," Takashi uttered. In a rush to get to his office, he hadn't seen the petite figure scampering from the hallway to his left.

All Takashi managed to glimpse were tufts of dark brown hair and vibrant dark Auburn orbs before he was knocked over and the carpeted floor collided with his back.

It came out in a single breath, so quiet, so light, Takashi almost missed it. "I believe you."

Takashi froze, his wide eyes bore into hers. But she quickly scrambled off of him, her face void of deceit as she apologized profusely and dusted herself off at the same time. Maybe he had imagined the teensy white square slipping into his shirt pocket.

"I didn't know anyone else was here at this hour." She commented lightly, picking up his things for him.

Takashi blinked, hastily snatching up his papers and books. Stumbling over his words, he managed to utter back, "Uh - I...me neither."

She paused, still crouching over his notebooks and many utensils, and considered him.

Takashi looked down, resisting the urge to grimace. Soon, there was going to be the 'oh - you're that guy! The crazy guy who tried to publish that insane theory about - what was it? - Variants?' And then there would be a sneer, or a robust laugh, or even a shake of the head. If one were oblivious enough to his discomfort, they'd even continue, 'didn't they move you to the Fiction Department?'

It never came.

Instead, she rocked back on her heels, tilting her head to the side. Her dark brown curls cascading over one shoulder. "Chiharu."

Takashi blinked, dropping the pens he had just gathering into his hand. "What?"

"I'm Chiharu."

Oh. It took him a moment to realize that she was looking at him expectantly. "Takashi." He returned reluctantly. Surely, now that he had stated his name -

"I know."

There it is. Now he just needed to gather his things and run before the verbal attacks came.

Takashi didn't answer. He stood up and she stood up with him, hefting the manila file folder under her arm. After one more apologetic smile, she bid him well. No sneer, no disapproving shake of the head. Her warm, Auburn orbs flashing up to meet his quickly before she marched off with a cheerful gait.

**11:20 PM**

A whirl of long, light auburn hair in contrast with the worn black clothing sped through the blood red bridge leading into the city. Rather than being on it, however, she was climbing on the underside of it and in the shadows. Sakura squinted in the darkness. She stilled once she got to the end of the bridge, crouching in the shadows just under it.

_zoom zoom zoom_

The cars, not touching the ground, sped by faster than the speed of sound. Despite the time of night, there were still a lot of cars around. Sakura waited until the last headlight passed her before she poked her head out of the shadows to take a good look at her location.

She realized her mistake as soon as she spotted the welcome sign. She cursed under her breath. She should've known. It was Carlisle City, the most watched, most isolated city in the Pangeo. How could she have allowed the Enforcers chase her there?

Wrapping the air around her as she went, she made herself a human submarine. Quickly gliding through the water, she allowed the darkness of the night to her advantage. Her first instinct was to torpedo through the waters to the mainland - but of course, the Enforcers weren't stupid. They probably had the entire island surrounded.

Sakura adjusted her path in the water along with the curvature of the city. Once she was a good distance, she surfaced for air. Her green eyes swept through the darkness, watching for movement. Then, slowly, she lifted her hand. She levitated a small blob of water, then gently threw it on the ground. She shaped footprints and random droplets, forging a path into the city. It'll distract the Enforcers for a while.

Her green eyes swept over the bright lights of the city longingly. No, she was a Variant. A single slip up, just one mistake, one accidental use of her magic and she'll be handed over to the Enforcers. (They'd be having a field day, of course.)

But she wasn't going to let them win. Sakura dove back into the water, making her way up the side of the island before resurfacing again by the northern tip. Carefully, she watched for any movement, any eyes, anything before she lifted herself out of the water.

She quickly sprinted into the forest, the National Park of Carlisle City, covering her tracks with her magic as she went. She slowed down once she was out of the open area. Sakura kept her watchful eyes roaming, careful to stay in the shadows or look inconspicuous. She wouldn't be surprised if they had cameras inside some of the tree trunks.

Finding a well shaded part of the forest and near the edge (if she had to make a run for it), Sakura settled on a rock. She took a deep breath and thought her situation over.

She was trapped. Carlisle may be a big city, but it was an island. Eventually the Enforcers were going to find her. They were smart, too, and they had eyes everywhere. At the most, Sakura had twenty four hours.

Twenty four hours and no where to run. Sakura swallowed thickly; her situation wasn't looking so good. She reached for her neck, taking out the necklace tucked under the folds of her clothing.

It was time to call in the Cavalry.

Taking the necklace off of her neck, she held the treasured ornament in her hands. It looked like some sort of key. On one end was a small pink circle, enclosing a yellow star. Two minuscule wings came off the sides of the circle. There was an even smaller red jewel that connected the two ends. The other end of the key were two simple rectangular teeth.

Gripping it tight, Sakura closed her eyes. She evened her breathing, feeling her veins start to vibrate with her magic. She channeled a light load of it through her arms and into her fingertips, allowing them to tingle a little. The key in her hands glowed brilliant, the yellow star whirling quickly with magic. The gust of magic was short lived, the key dulled and the yellow star stilled.

She had sent the message.

**11:22 PM**

Takashi continued on his way, the strange encounter pushed to the back of his mind as he stumbled back to his office. His eyes quickly landed on two new pieces of paper now decorating his bland walls. There was the article he wrote. Then there was a picture of the Best Science Fiction Award trophy next to it.

Of course, Takashi rolled his eyes as he plopped down in his chair, he couldn't leave his office for ten minutes without someone laughing in his face. He _was_ one of the most reputable journalists in Carlisle City.

For the umpteenth time, Takashi absently skimmed over the article that led to his downfall.

Carlisle City? The Commonwealth of Pangeo? It's a lie. A global governmental lie. Big Brother had told them it was an egalitarian society, that everyone was equal, and they were just there to protect their rights.

Wrong. The People weren't equal. Not when there were Variants.

The People quickly dismissed him; Variants were a thing of the past. Back when there were nations. See, according to historians, there were different countries around the globe and those countries didn't agree on anything or even have the same language. No wonder they failed. And the Variants went down with them; the People scoffed at him, even second graders knew that.

And for his argument that Variants have survived secretly in this society? Cursed with so much power? Impossible, the People were all equal. They had nowhere to hide. The Enforcers make sure of that.

Takashi sighed, gathering his things and turning off his computer. He checked his watch. It was getting late, almost midnight and way past working hours. The thought of time brought him back to the strange encounter earlier with - what was her name? - Chiharu.

Takashi refrained from reaching for his shirt pocket because he knew, he just knew, the Enforcers were watching. After his attempt to publicize his theories, _Big Brother was always watching._

Takashi shook himself from his thoughts. He frowned as he quickly stuffed everything in his worn leather suitcase, and slung it over his shoulder. Grabbing his coat, he made his way out the door. With a single wave of his free arm, the lights were magically turned off in his office and the door gently shut.

See, the thing about egalitarian societies is that everyone gets a little dose of magic. That, Takashi was thankful for. Stuffing his coat under his arm and digging out his keys, Takashi wearily struggled with the lock on his office door. Magic-proof locks, on the other hand, he had a love-hate relationship with.

**11:42 PM**

As commander of the Enforcers, Yue was honored to be the only one who made contact with Big Brother. He held his head high, and walked with an arrogant and purposeful stride.

Yue sat down stiffly in the chair, staring straight ahead. At first glance, it was a pitch black wall. At second glance, however, once could only slightly discern that it was a screen.

The letters appeared one after another on the screen as Big Brother communicated.

_REPORT?_

He was always so straight to the point. Yue smoothly dished out, "Haliquinta is under control. The natural disaster in Lorman has been contained. Monitoring has been set up in Locar Village." And he continued the report monotonously for the next few minutes. Until the screen responded.

_AND IN CARLISLE, THE JOURNALIST?_

"Quiet." Yue responded easily.

_PROGRESS ON THE VARIANT?_

At this, Yue let on a smirk as he gazed into the dark abyss - but it was just a screen. He responded with a hint of triumph, "We chased her into Carlisle City. She's trapped there, and she can't hide forever. Now all we need is twenty four hours and we'll be rid of all Variants."

_SHE CAN STILL ESCAPE WITH MAGIC_

He knew Big Brother was going to bring that up. "Yes, well, teleportation takes a great deal of magical energy for one. She's been on the run, we've worn her out. She can't have enough energy left to even-" He regretted his babbling immediately.

_NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VARIANTS_

"I-yes, sir." Yue bowed his head to show respect. "But Keroberos, our Magical scientist, has recently completed Project Dome. It's a forcefield and an anti-magic shield. It's large enough to surround the city. People can still use magic - they will barely notice it. They just can't get past it, in or out, physically or magically."

_SET IT UP?_

"...no."

_GET IT DONE_

"Yes sir." There was a pause, before Yue spoke up again. His voice hesitant, and still strong. "The Variant…We need twenty four hours at most." He was asking for permission.

Patiently, Yue waited before the pitch black screen. He waited for a response, a command, a praise - _anything_. He tongue glided over his bottom lip, his hand settling on his thigh anxiously.

**11:48 PM**

Takashi had read the slip of paper as soon as he ducked out of the Enforcer's watchful eyes. Namely, he slowed down the elevator only a millisecond - for there was the only place the Enforcers didn't have cameras - and skimmed through it quickly. It was directions.

So here he was. He cursed himself for his curiosity the entire way as he ducked under the Southwest Bridge, landing in the small beach and ignoring a rather horny couple. At least they didn't see him when he felt in the foliage by the wall and ducked into the darkness. Apparently, he had walked into the underground sewer system - but he followed the lefts and rights as the note had said. Now, he was standing in the middle of a vast, empty cavern.

Not that he could tell anything because it was so dark. He couldn't even conjure up light. A Variant could, probably, because that required pure magic. All the People really had was plain magic. There was a difference. Plain magic relied on things already existing.

Takashi squeezed his eyes shut, and opened them again. There was no difference. He cursed himself for the umpteenth time. How many times did his curiosity get him in trouble?

**11:56 PM**

Sakura perched on the rock, hidden under the shade and foliage of the forest. Her knees to her chest, she waited patiently. Suddenly, the key clutched tightly in her grip began to glow.

Sakura let a smile grace her face. Again, she closed her eyes, channeling her magical energy from her veins to the tips of her fingers. She felt it pour into the key, giving the other party enough magic to teleport.

Breathing heavily, she let slack her grip on the key, hanging the necklace back on her neck. It continued glowing, and forms were starting to take shape in front of her.

She could feel the displacement of the air as the teleporters start to materialize. Sakura was already quickly controlling the air particles around her part of the forest, containing the air molecules within her area. The displacement of the air would certainly draw the Enforcer's ever watchful eyes around the city.

* * *

**AND THE CLOCK STRUCK MIDNIGHT**

* * *

**00:00**

There was a _pop! _as each person materialized. Sakura let her eyes wander from face to face. Her smile widened and her vivid Emerald eyes shone more lively.

The Cavalry had arrived.

A breath of relief released from her. Her lively eyes didn't last long, however, nor did her smile. Both faded quickly as she fell from the rock and laid limp on the soft grass.

She had used too much magic in one night.

**00:00**

Takashi nearly jumped out of his skin when everything lit up. All around him, the walls turned into screens and the ceiling diffused white light, illuminating the room. That wasn't what concerned him, however.

It was the human circle around him, the threatening looks copied all around, and the absence of familiar warm Auburn orbs and dark brown curls.

**00:00**

Yue's pale grey eyes lit up as he stared up at the short sentence. Big Brother had finally responded:

_SO IT BEGINS._

_ELIMINATE HER AT ALL COSTS._

* * *

**IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL CHAPTERS**

**I will be using the 24 hour clock or military time as the time reference. (Ex. 11:30 PM = 23:30)**

**Cardcaptor Sakura is hereby disclaimed. I will also disclaim 24 (TV Show) and 1984 by George Orwell. Despite the fact that I have neither watched nor read either TV show or book, I was inspired by the main idea of 24 and is using the term Big Brother coined by George Orwell.**

What do you think? I don't have an outline or plan for this story, but I really like it and I'm gonna wing it, but it's gonna be awesome.


	2. At the First Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the First Hour**

* * *

**00:10 (equivalent to 12:10 AM)**

"Yue!" Shouted a woman with dark brown eyes and a long mahogany plait that trailed after her as she sprinted towards him. He quickly identified her as Ruby Moon, one of his monitoring agents. "You have to see this! Yue have to!" She giggled a little at her own joke, but the commander was not amused.

"It's pronounced Yueh, not you." The commander answered irritably.

"I know, I know, but," She waved at him dismissively, landing before him to catch her breath. "This is - this is huge. Discovery of the millenium. I almost didn't believe it if I didn't see it happen myself."

Brows furrowed and interest peaked, Yue hastily followed her to the monitoring lab. It was a large center, split into three sections. The first section was filled with rows after rows of holographic screens. In front of each screen sat an Enforcer, some who wore headphones and some who only watched and took notes. The second section had nine huge lab table. Floating right above them are 3D holographic replicas of parts of the city. The 3D holograms are constantly moving as a crowd of Enforcers watch over the tables. The third section was more secluded. This was for the higher ranked Enforcers, who monitored more interesting things.

Without sparing the rest of the room a glance, the pair made a beeline for the third section and a small cubicle on the farthest right.

Ruby's job was to monitor Magic used in the city. There were usually the small spikes, which were normal for people using plain magic in their everyday lives. Then there were the level fives and sixes, when thugs on the streets would gang up on a poor innocent city goer. They'd combine their magic on the city goer while attacking. Those were the occasional spikes, because no one wanted to get in trouble with the Enforcers. Then, there were the extremely rare nines and tens. The past few that occurred were actually Enforcer Approved community projects that involved a large band of people - and we're talking thirty to forty - combining their magic. That was as high as the chart went.

The screen was already moving along with charts and graphs, constantly shifting and recording as the seconds went by. Pushing the holographic screen up with just a wave of her hand, she opened up a new window and went back to her archives. Efficiently, Ruby pulled up the chart for the day before, scrolling over to the right spot.

There were two spikes the night before. Ruby needlessly pointed them out, "it was a Ten at 11:26, there." She glanced anxiously at him, searching for his reaction. "But the interesting one…" she waved her hand to the right to telekinetically scroll over closer to midnight. The gray line had flown off the chart, not coming back until exactly midnight. "It's...it's incredible -"

The Ten made sense to Yue. Variants' powers were usually at Ten, sometimes they could emit a Twelve if they really put a lot of energy into it. Fifteen at the highest, Yue thought bitterly. The last time he battled a Variant, who threw his all into the fight to keep himself alive, his army was hit with Level Fifteen magic. Needless to say, they had to bring a nuclear bomb to beat him.

While Yue remained silent, Ruby blabbered on obliviously. "It was so - I've never seen - so I was like calculating and all that. I even got Suppi - you know from the tech department? - to help me. Oh Brother, Yue, the number I got -" she shook her head disbelievingly as yet another screen popped up alongside the chart to show her calculations. She bent to squint at them, skimming over it quickly, "I must've done something wrong - the algorithm? No -"

"Ruby." Yue growled impatiently. "Spit it out."

"Forty." She immediately responded, her wide red eyes darting to glance at the other cubicles to see if they'd heard. "It was a forty," she repeated scandalously.

"Impossible." Yue immediately responded. He snatched the screen filled with calculations from the air, holding it as it were paper. He skimmed through it quickly. All the calculations were done correctly. "No, impossible." He repeated. Stepping up to the other screens - and effectively pushing Ruby aside - Yue ignored her yelp. He drew a square with his finger over the second spike on the chart, copying it, and then placing it as if it was another sheet of paper on top of the calculations. He glanced at the woman shortly. "Keep monitoring." Before walking away with both holographic sheets tucked under his arm.

**00:21**

"Yukito." Takashi stated, staring at the tall adult with soft grey eyes and gentle features. He blinked at the man, repeating dumbly, "Yukito...you're the leader of the Renege." Apparently, that was what the group called themselves.

"Yup." The man nodded, the hard expression still on his features. After all, they were speaking to an outsider. "Takashi, right? And Chiharu led you here, is that right?"

Takashi nodded, subtly looking around again if the aforementioned lady would show up and validate him. No hope was found. He cleared his throat, his eyes settling back on Yukito's. "With a piece of paper detailing the directions, yes."

Yukito paused, and the circle around him closed in. Takashi shifted his feet nervously, feeling the heat of the group's stare burn into him. Finally, their leader spoke up. His tone was light, "You know, you have a reputation."

Of course he knows. He's reminded every day of it.

"A reputation…how should I say this?" Yukito wracked his brain for a euphemism. "A reputation as a pathological liar."

There it is, Takashi bit his lip. He knew he shouldn't have come. "I do have that reputation," Takashi started haltingly. "That doesn't mean it's true."

Yukito smiled a little, his eyes lighting up amusedly. Looks were passed around the room, and Takashi couldn't tell if he had said the right thing or not. Then again, he just wanted to get out of there.

Before the tense silence could stretch on any longer - to Takashi's relief - a commotion started at the far end of the room.

They all turned, Takashi especially, to squint at the entrance. The same entrance he had passed through only minutes prior.

A flash of Chestnut hair, amber eyes...Takashi tiptoed, glimpsing dark heads…a pair of amethyst eyes flashed towards his general direction -

His view was obstructed as half of the rebels surrounding him crowded around the newcomers. Emerging from the group, to Takashi's relief, was the woman who led him into the situation. She grinned at the sight of him, bouncing over.

Takashi gave her an exasperated look.

Yukito smiled, a kind, gentle one that Takashi hadn't have the pleasure of receiving just yet. "This is the guy?" The leader addressed the cheerful rebel.

"Yup! That's the guy!"

And it was as if a magic switch was turned on. Yukito turned to Takashi with a welcoming grin, the rest of the rebels that remained around him had started to smile. Some even pat him on the back and murmured welcoming greetings before scattering.

Wow, okay. Takashi sent Chiharu another exasperated look when she came to stand next to him. "So that's the magic word?" He addressed her, "'he's the guy' and suddenly they don't want to burn me at the stake anymore?"

Her warm brown eyes turned to him. She furrowed her eyebrows for only a second before she understood his predicament. She laughed at him. Key word: _at._

"You said be here at midnight." Takashi grumbled.

"Something came up. Someone needed my help and I had to go." She dismissed him flippantly. "I knew you could talk yourself out of getting killed."

He stared at her blankly.

"Oh, come on." Now it was Chiharu's turn to look at him in exasperation. "You talked yourself out of getting fired when you published _that_ article, didn't you?"

Takashi frowned thoughtfully, impressed that she knew such a little detail. After all, they barely knew each other. "Maybe," he answered lightly, to her infuriation. Had she been asking around about him? He wondered briefly what that did to her newbie reputation. Nothing good, most likely. "So what'd they say when you asked about me?"

Chiharu scowled at the taller man. But she answered truthfully, "You're a pathological liar."

Takashi couldn't help but snort.

Chiharu raised her eyebrows. "So that's actually a rumor then?"

The journalist didn't answer. Abruptly, he turned to her, his face serious. "What did you mean when you said you believe me?"

She was just as serious as he was. "Just that."

"Why?"

She was just as serious as he was. "They say it's a gift." Her eyes wandered as she continued, "sometimes it's a curse." Chiharu looked straight at him when she said, "I can tell when people are lying. I can tell when they're telling the truth." She paused, before elaborating. "It's like seeing colors. I can just...tell."

Takashi wasn't sure how to respond.

Taking his silence the wrong way, Chiharu scoffed, turning away. "That's okay, everyone else don't believe me either. At least you also know how that feels."

He wanted to say something, he did. Takashi opened his mouth to say that he _does_ believe her - but - does he? Can she really tell when people are lying? What if they're really good at it?

The journalist turned away, letting his eyes wander and the silence settle between them. Eventually, it was he who broke the silence. "I'm starting to think it wasn't just my rumored talking skills that saved my job."

Chiharu glanced up at him in confusion, but he wasn't looking at her. She followed his line of sight to settle on the form of Rika Sasaki. Also known as The Boss at their publishing firm.

**00:33**

Passing several security doors which were designed to look like normal doors. Yue strode purposely through multiple hallways, not even acknowledging the thresholds that measured his features, gait, and the occasional eye and fingerprint check to allow him entrance. He burst through the doors of the secluded lab.

"You need to set up Project Dome right now." He ordered curtly.

The man - or rather, creature - addressed looked up at him airily. He even raised a white furry brow. His golden fur swayed as he sat back on his furry bosom, his golden tail with a single white puff at the end swinging casually. "And why is that?"

Oh, if the People knew a magical creature was working for them. Equality, Yue scoffed, the People were such gullible idiots. Outwardly, he scowled at the creature. "I don't have time for this, Keroberos, do it now."

Dropping the cool facade, Kero jumped up on the balls of his paws. "What? What? Something happen?" Keroberos pounced from the edge of his lab table to the land softly in front of Yue. Even with four paws firmly on the ground, Kero was still eye level with Yue. He was a gigantic intimidating creature, no doubt. It goes to show his familiarity with the creature that Yue pushed him aside to take a look at the experimental dome. Kero followed him eagerly, "Someone teleported?"

Yue nearly got a whiplash when he turned abruptly to look at the creature. "What do you know about that?"

Kero grinned victoriously. "So something happened huh? What's that tucked under your arm, hm? Is that why you're so eager to get Project Dome running? Someone had to have used magic to get in. Who was it? It was teleportation, wasn't it?"

The commander growled at the creature. "Get it set up then I'll tell you. Big Brother wanted it done," he glanced sourly at the watch, "an hour ago."

The creature, uncharacteristic to its fierce features, pouted a little. His ears flopped back and he dragged his feet. "Fine." He growled. He closed his eyes. His golden fur swayed gently as his middle rose and fell to his even breathing. Keroberos began to glow, his golden features stunning and his fur swaying more violently now as the air gathered around him.

Yue could _feel_ the energy radiating out of the creature. He gripped the lab table, digging his feet onto the floor and gritted his teeth. He had to turn his grey eyes away from the light -

Then it was over. Kero got up with a grin, stretching his forearms and yawning. Yue turned to him to see the whole array of his sharp teeth and large tongue.

"Is it done?" Yue asked anxiously.

Kero sent him an amused look. "No." He laughed, to Yue's annoyance.

"Then what the hell-"

"I was gathering my energy. Geez, calm down, old man." Nonchalantly, Kero trotted over to the other side of his lab. With a grin he knew would annoy the commander of the Enforcers, he pressed a single button. The effect was immediate, his fur pulsing with magical energy as it shot out from his body.

The force of the magical energy threw Yue off his feet.

**0:59**

Her eyelids flew open, her eyelashes crashing softly against her lids, and her vibrant Emerald revealed.

Sakura's soft pink lips parted, and the first thing she breathed was, "Kero-" in a hoarse whisper.

* * *

**1:00**

* * *

**A/N:** If you're a smarticle particle and figured out the format of this story, guess how many chapters there will be?


	3. At the Second Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Second Hour**

* * *

**01:02**

The first thing she saw were intense amber orbs staring back at her.

"Syaoran…" She croaked out, but he quickly moved out of her sight, stepping back and leaning against the far wall. Two more faces filled her line of sight.

"Where am I?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows and wandering eyes.

"Eriol had some connections in Carlisle City. Lucky for us, there was a group of rebels here ready to provide us with some hospitality." Gentle Amethyst orbs smiled down at her, while dark curls brushed against her shoulder. "But we can talk about it later when you've fully recovered."

Sakura grinned, her voice gaining strength the more she spoke. "Tomoyo!" She exclaimed excitedly in greeting. Belatedly, she answered, "No, it's okay, thank you." She turned to the next face. He was a pale, smiling man with spectacles. His sharp azure eyes shining through and his dark hair neatly parted on his head. "Eriol!"

Sakura gently nudged off the blankets covering her, but even that little motion strained her arms. "But I felt four, did another join the Cavalry…" Sakura trailed off when another face came into view.

"That's me! I'm Meiling!" She had vibrant scarlet orbs and sharp features, a telling sign of her fierceness in battle. Her long ebony hair cascaded in smooth tresses to her waist, matching perfectly with her tan skin. She bent over to scrutinize Sakura's tired face. "You sure you don't want to rest some more? You lost a lot of energy."

"No, thanks." Sakura smiled gratefully, "And that's not possible," Sakura laughed weakly, still regaining her strength. "Conservation of energy."

"What?" Meiling blinked.

"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed." Syaoran recited in a soft tone, but he didn't meet Sakura's searching eyes. He was wearing only a T-shirt and black sweatpants, and yet - boy, does he look handsome. Her green eyes traced over the tattoo that snaked across his right arm, part of it bulging as Syaoran crossed his arms and shifted self-consciously.

Meiling glanced between the two. If she saw any of the tension, she didn't show it. "Oh." She leaned back against the wall. "That sounds like you're okay, I think?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sakura grinned at the cheerful Cavalry member. She struggled to sit up, Meiling eagerly scampered forward to help her. Tomoyo spied Syaoran, too, had reflexively acted, but held himself back.

As soon as Sakura was sitting upright and Meiling stepped back, Sakura breathed in deeply. The air around her whirled. Her eyes closed, her face looking so completely at peace. Her light auburn hair blew softly along with the whirlwind she created.

Faintly, Meiling asked, "What's she doing?"

"Gathering her magic." Tomoyo offered quietly in explanation. "Kind of like a magical meditation."

"It helps with revitalization," only Eriol would use such a word in conversation, "and gathers the energy together for the person if one wanted to use magic."

She seemed to be glowing with it too, her veins pulsing with magic and her skin shining light pink.

She looked ephemeral. Syaoran snapped out of it first, his strained voice cutting in. "Don't."

Sakura opened her eyes, the entire magical experience disappearing with the action, glancing at him in surprise.

"Don't use magic." He stared straight ahead, straight at the closed door.

Sakura followed his line of sight. Realization hit her, and she hung her head limply. "They don't like Variants." Sakura's voice was soft, resigned. But it might've been her weary state.

Syaoran glanced at her briefly, the golden edges of his amber irises softening as he took in her appearance again. But when she turned to look at him, his face immediately hardened and he quickly evaded her look. Tomoyo smiled briefly when she observed the interaction.

Meiling didn't allow for a tense silence to settle in the room. Immediately, she perked up cheerfully, "I think you're awesome." She bluntly stated, her vibrant red eyes lit up. "But then I've never met a Variant. Which makes sense because they're like, extinct. I mean, they are a lot worse than that, I guess, because they told me you're the last one. Imagine that!" She ranted on, encouraged by Sakura's amused smile, "The first Variant I meet is the last Variant ever! And-and I got to see some fan-fucking-tastic performance. You fueled our teleportation! _Four_ people teleportation takes a lot of -"

"Meiling," Syaoran hissed in a warning tone. Sending her a look. They weren't sure how the rebels would respond when they find out (because they were sure to eventually).

Obediently, Meiling shut up, but grinned excitedly at Sakura. Amused, Sakura smiled back.

Syaoran, always the perceptive one, spoke up this time. "When you woke up, you mentioned -"

"Kero." Sakura cut in, straightening her back while her features rearranged themselves to a serious expression. "Yes. I felt him."

"But he's-"

"I know."

"He can't possibly-"

"I felt him." Sakura's words were firm, confident.

Syaoran paused contemplatingly before asking, "You don't think the Enforcers-"

"It's the only possible explanation."

At this point, Syaoran scowled, glaring at the petite Variant. "Will you stop interrupting me?"

She caught his gaze, and giggled a little, muttering a meek, "sorry."

He turned away, his frown lightening only a millimeter. Tomoyo exchange a look with Eriol, both wearing enigmatic smile. Oblivious to the exchange, Meiling leaned close to Tomoyo, blabbering, "That whole conversation just flew over my head. Do you think Variants read minds? Or do they have a connection? He didn't even finish his sentence and she knew what he was talking about." Tomoyo smiled amusedly at her, craftily allowing her to continue, "like, I haven't even reached that level with Syaoran-"

"Meiling." Syaoran called out irritably. When she snapped to him, he immediately ordered curtly, "Shut up."

Sakura gasped slightly, appalled at the lack of manners. But Meiling beat her to the scolding, "Rude." Meiling huffed.

**01:11**

"So what's this?" The magical creature was already halfway across the room from his original position, bending over the holographic screens that had flown when Yue was thrown off his feet.

Yue scowled, grumpily getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "It's from Ruby."

"Magical monitoring of the city?" Kero quickly interpreted, familiar with the main characters of the Enforcers unit.

When the commander didn't answer, Kero looked up. Yue had walked to the farthest corner of the room from Kero, a hand to his ear. By the time he walked back, all Kero heard was, "go ahead, and bring thirty."

Kero had to wonder what he could possibly be sending thirty Enforcers to. But he didn't have much time, for Yue broke in his thoughts with, "Look at the spike at 11:59."

"Yes, I see - _ooh._"

Yue narrowed his cold silver eyes at the creature, scrutinizing the slight tug on Kero's lips and the glint in those golden irises. "So?" He asked impatiently.

Kero didn't answer, pushing the first sheet aside with his paw and lightly examining the second holographic sheet with calculations. "Ruby's calculations, I presume?" His voice was subdued.

Yue frowned, but answered. "And Suppi." Warily, he continued as he scrutinized Kero's reaction. "It was a forty."

Kero's bright golden eyes glanced up to meet his, but he didn't seem surprised. If anything, it was as if a hypothesis was confirmed in his head. He seemed somewhat...put off. "A forty." He repeated, humming under his breath. "_Hm_, yes. Very interesting."

Was the animal going to make him ask? Yue frowned, impatiently speaking up, "What were you saying about teleportations?"

If a giant lion could shrug, that was exactly what Kero had done just then.

Yue glared hard at the creature. Kero was the only one who dared to treat him - _him! _The commander of the Enforcers! The only living, breathing person who has ever directly spoke to Big Brother! - as if he was one of equal rank or nothing important at all. It infuriated him to no end. "Teleportations required level ten magic." Yue coaxed, keeping his temper in tact.

Kero didn't budge. He just leaped from the floor onto his lab table, stretching across the steel rectangle. "So do the math," the creature finally answered, peering at Yue casually.

Yue scowled. He'll deal with Kero's disrespect later. For now, he paced. "Four." He was starting to think aloud, but it was okay because he was only talking to Kero. "One person can't possibly transport four people." There was an expectant pause before Yue finally spit out what he wanted to confirm with the creature all along, "One Variant can't possibly have that much magic."

Kero settled down further, making himself comfortable and rubbing his chin in the fur of his arms. "Not if your ancestor is Clow Reed." He spoke so casually, as if he said the sky was blue.

**01:26**

"Why would you call yourself Renege?" Takashi asked as he stretched his arms over his head. He was sitting at one of the many tables scattered around the cavern. He was thoroughly impressed with what the Renege had turned the cavern into. There were screens lining the walls, tables and labs set up all around. It looked like a high quality scientific research center. He wondered where all the money came from.

Rather than Chiharu answering his question as he had expected a new voice entered in the conversation. "Renege, verb, going back on one's word, or to play a card that is not the same suit when the card game is to play the same suit, in other words, break a rule of play."

Takashi blinked at the bookish young lady sitting at the end of their table. She had large, thin frames that covered half her face, and straight brown bangs that covered even more.

"That's Naoko." Chiharu stated in explanation.

"I'm...a journalist. I know what Renege means." Takashi continued to look at the studious woman. When Naoko looked up briefly at him, he smiled warmly at her. She merely looked back down at her book. Unfazed, Takashi turned back to the topic at hand. "So why the hell would you call yourselves that?"

Chiharu grinned. "There's a story behind that."

Takashi smiled, "Well, if you'll do me the honor -"

But a panicked voice interrupted, reverberating throughout the cavern. "CODE RED! YUKITO, YUKITO - CODE RED!"

The leader immediately half-marched, half-ran over to the yeller, glancing open mouthed at the screen on the wall. Flashes of navy blue and white -

"The Enforcers are at the entrance." Yukito stated quietly, but the whole room heard.

The rebels reacted immediately, people began gathering up their things, shutting down the table holograms -

Yukito had sprinted to a far end of the room, seeming as if ready to lockdown, but Chiharu's voice rang out. "Stop!" The Renege members turned to her in surprise. "There's no need - We have the Cavalry!"

As if the word itself was their saving grace, the rebels cheered and Yukito abruptly changed direction toward a closed off room at the far end.

"What's the Cavalry?" Takashi asked cluelessly, but his question was lost in the ensuing chaos.

**01:37**

"Clow's ancest-" Yue growled, cutting himself off in his annoyance. "Keroberoes, I'm fucking serious."

"You think I'm not?" The animal didn't look at all serious, licking his paws nonchalantly as he laid on top of his lab table.

"There's only one." Yue didn't sound so sure of himself then. "There is only one descendant of Clow."

"Is there?" Kero grinned.

Oh, he was asking for a punch. Through gritted teeth, the commander growled, "You told me there was only one and I killed him at Granatopolis."

The lion laid his head down on his arm, shrugging, "I must've miscounted."

Breathing heavily, clenching and unclenching his fist, the commander looked ready to strangle the lion right then and there.

**01:45**

Syaoran bore an unreadable expression, a hard edge to his eyes, as he twirled his right hand in the air - a double edged sword formulated in the air as he did so. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the handle and swung the sword in a flashy wide arc before slamming the blade against an Enforcer's head. _Swish, swish, swish._ The sword was a silvery blur.

Meiling waved her hand over some sheets of paper laying around the tables as she passed by, using her plain magic to snatch them up. She clapped them in between her hands, closed her eyes, then separated her hands. The pieces of paper floated in the air between her hands and formed themselves into sharp paper blades. With a wave of her right hand, she sent them whizzing straight at the rows of Enforcers piling in the open cavern entrance.

Oddly enough, Tomoyo stood aside, away from the physical combat. Her face hardened to a closed expression, as if a mask was put in place. She narrowed her eyes in concentration at an Enforcer, then she raised her hand, her palm open. The Enforcer moved oblivious - until she abruptly closed her fist - then he choked on thin air. Both of his hands went immediately to his throat, before he went limp then fell on the ground. Tomoyo glanced at his body emotionlessly before moving onto the next Enforcer. Sometimes, she even used both hands to do two at a time.

Last, but definitely not least, was Eriol. His talent indescribably incredible. He, too, did not have a weapon. With an unreadable expression much like Syaoran's, he quickly knocked the first row of Enforcers down with a few strikes from his elbow and edge of his hands to the major nerves - his moves so fast, one could only see a blur. But the surprising part was what he did next.

He just...disappeared. Then reappeared in the middle of the ranks of Enforcers, effectively confusing the Enforcers' uniform formation. Again, he ran through his routine of hand-to-hand combat, his moves too fast for the Enforcers to anticipate.

With the four working so quickly, all thirty of the Enforcers were knocked unconscious and piled in a large heap by the entrance of the cavern in just ten minutes.

Syaoran opened his right palm, then slowly closed it into a fist at the same time as the sword disappeared into an unknown pocket. Meiling flattened the paper she had in her hands, effectively using her plain magic to remove the blood stains and returning the paper back to its regular flexible sheet. Tomoyo brushed off her clothing, not at all involved in the combat physically. Eriol reappeared next to his Cavalry friends. None of the four looked at all happy as they gazed upon their handiwork.

"That, Takashi, is the Cavalry." Chiharu stated. Someone had heard him, after all.

His assumption was quick, "They're Va-"

"No." Chiharu looked up at him with a hard, resolute look in her eye. "They're People."

"H-how…" Takashi was sure he had dislocated his jaw.

Naoko grinned - a rare sight, indeed - eager to explain.

* * *

**2:00**

* * *

**NOTE: I revised the century in chapter 1 (The Zeroth Hour) to 25th Century (the year 2400s), because I'd like to think that by the year 3000, things will be a lot more advanced than this.**

**A/N:** Thanks to all those who reviewed. (And by all, I mean like two people but my heart goes out to my few amazing friends.) And I know you guys are super duper smart, it was just a not-as-simple-as-you-thought question. There's actually going to be twenty five chapters - yes there's 24 hours - but remember, the first chapter was the zeroth hour.


	4. At the Third Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Third Hour**

* * *

**2:05**

Yue was pacing. He marched back and forth, wearing away the cement flooring of the hallway just outside Kero's lab. He had stomped out of the room in rage and frustration. The damn animal infuriated him to no end.

And then there was the report from an Enforcer captain. "No updates?" Yue pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why _the hell_ are you coming to me with _no fucking_ updates?! You lose them. You _fucking _go after them."

The said Enforcer captain stood nervously in front of the angry commander as a hologram through their high-technology communications system. "S-sir, uh, I - I tried, sir. Uh, there-there was interference in our communications once they entered the target location -"

"Then _you go to the target location!"_ Why the hell was this so complicated?

"We didn't know where...uh…." The Captain fidgeted. Obviously embarrassed that there was a lack of communication between him and his charge, he changed the subject. "We tried to check for vitals through their Nets…" Every Enforcer had a single chip embedded in their body called Nets. The technology is conveniently connected to their vitals. "uh, there-there was no heartbeat, Sir. None of them."

Yue stilled. His breathing evened out. "So they were killed." He stated lowly. "Thirty soldiers...killed by a rebel group." That's definitely unheard of. They must have had help. "You checked their vitals on their Nets...but not their location?" Yue's voice rose and he turned to glare at the captain.

"I-" The captain opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"What is the purpose of you?"

"I'll- right on it, Sir. I'll find them."

"You better." Yue muttered, touched the thin strap on his wrist - their communicator - to terminate the conversation. The captain's holograph disappeared.

**2:10**

"Plain magic." Naoko stated, her eyes boring into Takashi's expectantly, "we move things right? Small things. We turn off the light switch, we levitate files into our bags."

They were back to sitting at their lab table, but Naoko was sitting across from Takashi and Chiharu was sitting next to him.

"Okay?" Takashi was kind of seeing where this conversation was going but not really. "Did they advance it somehow?"

She ignored him. "You know chemistry. Molecules and atoms, that sort of stuff. They're small, microscopically small. So small, they're invisible to the naked eye -"

"Okay, they're teeny." Takashi cut in, "I get it."

At this, Naoko glared at him. "When they use plain magic, instead of moving objects, they move molecules, and even atoms. Since they're so small, you can't really tell what they're doing, but that's what they're doing."

"Trust me, she knows what she's talking about." Chiharu cut in at Takashi's half-confused, half-dubious look.

Chiharu spoke up next. "First, the guy with the sword? His name is Syaoran. He is _the_ best swordsman and martial arts master ever walked on Earth. He doesn't do a lot of that plain magic thing."

"But where does the sword come from?"

"People think it's the tattoo on his arm, where he separates the molecules that make up his sword and stick them on his arm." Chiharu shrugged, "but nobody knows, really."

"And then there's Meiling. She takes those pieces of paper - and you know about the composition of matter, right?"

"I'm still a journalist, not a chemist." Takashi dryly commented.

Naoko rolled her eyes as if it was such a chore to explain things to him. "Solids have tightly packed atoms to form those objects. Molecules in liquids and gases move around freely, gas molecules more so. Right?" At Takashi's nod, she continued. "So back to solids. The molecules in solids are arranged differently in different solids. That's what makes diamonds stronger than plastic." Takashi nodded again. "So what Meiling does is she takes the paper and packs the molecules in paper tighter than they were, which makes them stronger. Ever got a paper cut?" Takashi nodded. "Imagine if the paper was as strong as steel." Takashi shivered.

"Tomoyo, that's the girl there with the long hair and pretty purple eyes." Chiharu pointed her out for Takashi. "She doesn't really fight. They say she's skilled when it comes down to it, but she doesn't usually do it. She's better at moving things from afar. That's how she suffocates people, she feels for the oxygen molecules is a person's lung, then compacts them into something like a molecular wall in their lung so that other oxygen atoms can't get in or out."

"But Eriol's _the_ best when it comes down to using magic." Naoko cut in eagerly. "That disappearing act? He's pulling apart all the molecules that make up his _own_ human body. It's amazing."

**2:21**

"We _are _in the sewer system. We can get rid of the bodies." Meiling frowned at the bodies. "It's just the nasty stuff we gotta do. Thirty times."

The other Cavalry members didn't answer, looking just as disgusted with the task. Seeing as they better get started rather than stand around and stare, Eriol crouched down by the bodies. Syaoran followed suit.

Bending down by one body, Meiling had formed a paper blade again. She turned the body around, taking the blue and white helmet off of the Enforcer, then dug into the skin on the back of the Enforcer's neck with her paper blade. After bloodying her hands and the paper blade she produced a small microchip. With disgust, she threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. The small microchip shattered to pieces.

Methodically, the four members of the Cavalry removed the small microchips from the Enforcers.

**2:32**

"Doesn't that take a lot of plain magic?" Takashi asked as he leaned back. "Moving molecules around?"

"That's the thing," Chiharu's eyes glinted in admiration when she said. "It doesn't at all. They have the same amount of plain magic as everyone else. They've just manipulated it in the most genius way possible."

"So any People can become a Cavalry. They just need training and concentration."

Naoko stared at the journalist as if he had two heads. "It's not easy honing in your magic to the molecular level. Have you tried levitating one speck of dust?"

Point well made. The journalist didn't answer. Takashi glanced absently at the Cavalry's movements. "So you told me about those four, but what about her?"

Chiharu and Naoko followed his line of sight. A small petite lady with short auburn hair and bright Emerald eyes hovered by the door of the Cavalry's new room.

"I don't know. They came with her," Chiharu shrugged. "Looks like someone they know. Or a damsel in distress. She was unconscious when they brought her in."

"I talked to her briefly." Spoke a rebel passing by their table. The rebel paused just beside Chiharu. "She seems nice."

"Point is, she's not the Cavalry." Naoko wasn't to be strayed from her point.

"Oh..." Takashi nodded, realizing that maybe not knowing the science behind it all would've been more admirable. It's not as cool anymore when he knows they're just moving molecules around. "That's smart, I guess. They've reached the level of Varia-"

"Don't you dare," Naoko narrowed her eyes at the startled journalist, gritting out, "compare the Cavalry to _those._"

Apparently, Takashi didn't know when to stop and let things go for he asked, "How is Cavalry any different from -" "-_don't say it!-"_ "So obviously, you know we're not all equal. What's _your _grudge against the You-know-what?"

"Are you kidding?" Chiharu asked incredulously.

"Variants are evil creatures." Naoko's eyes darkened and her lips formed a fowl scowl. "They're not even People. They destroy everything they touch -"

"Have you seen them?" Takashi interrupted.

Naoko begrudgingly admitted, "No."

He turned expectantly to Chiharu, who frowned. "No."

"But the stories were enough."

"You believe every story people tell you?" Takashi raised his eyebrows.

"No, of course not." Naoko scowled, "but do you question everything people tell you? When someone tells you the sky is blue, do you ask them why?"

Takashi smiled slightly, "No, but I look outside to make sure it actually is blue."

"They're telling the truth. I can tell, remember?" Chiharu spoke up. "The ones who told us those stories."

"Maybe that's because they believe in the stories." Takashi turned to her. "Maybe that's because their ancestors' ancestors told them those stories and as they're passed down, people began to believe in them."

"Or maybe they're true."

"Have you seen a Variant?" Takashi asked again, to prove his point. He was completely unfazed by both ladies flinching at the sound of the word itself.

Frustrated with the conversation and Takashi's questioning of their society's beliefs, Naoko glared at him, then with a huff she stood up. Addressing Chiharu, she said, "Why did you bring him here?" But she didn't wait for an answer before stomping off.

**2:33**

Syaoran knew it before he looked up. Sakura was lingering by the entrance of the room they had just come from. She wasn't as good as they were in masking their expressions.

Her Emerald eyes glazed and her soft pink lips parted. Slowly, he stood up while the other three continued their work.

"Sakura…" He let out unintentionally.

Her brilliant green eyes snapped to him at his first mention of her name since their reunion. It stayed on him as he approached her.

Syaoran stopped three feet away from her, not daring to go any closer.

She spoke first, her voice small and fragile, "Thirty people."

"They're Enforcers-"

"They're human beings." Sakura cut in, her voice stronger.

Syaoran set his jaw.

"Thirty, Syaoran," Sakura repeated. She tried to look past him, but he shifted to block her view.

His voice was reserved, resigned. "Go back inside, Sakura."

Her eyes lifted to meet his. The tumult of sadness, conflict, grief, and mortification almost threw him. But he held his ground. His voice softened, "Sakura, please."

**2:41**

"Their Nets were down." The Enforcers captain sheepishly reported.

"Down." Yue repeated dubiously. His nails dug into his flesh and Yue hissed, unclenching his fist. "_How_ can you not get a signal on their Nets? It's fucking in their bodie-" He stopped suddenly, his silver eyes lighting up in epiphany.

The Enforcer's captain looked to his superior curiously.

"The Cavalry."

"Sir?"

"The Cavalry is here." He repeated. Again, without even a dismissal, he pressed his wrist-communicator to end the conversation. He straightened his back, marching through the hallway. The commander grumbled under his breath, "She teleported four people - I should've seen it." His posture stiffened more and more as he continued through the hallways. He needed to talk to Big Brother.

**2:44**

Yukito was pacing. He munched on a donut as he paced in front of the rebel group that gathered before him. "How did they find us?"

The rebels shifted, glancing at each other nervously.

"You."

Takashi didn't have to look up to know they were all looking at him.

"You're new. Did anyone see you when you came? Did you make sure you weren't followed? Watched?"

Takashi answered readily, "No."

"Lie." Chiharu dished out quickly, but didn't look in his direction.

Yukito's eyes bore into Takashi's expectantly.

Takashi swallowed. "There was a couple making out by the beach when I -" he saw the leader's expression quickly change, and his voice rose as he tried to explain himself. "but they weren't looking!"

Yukito looked as if ready to yell at him, but then breathed deeply. He took another bite of the donut; munching on it seemed to be calming him down. In a gentler voice, he stated, "Rule number twelve. Nobody's ever not looking."

**2:55**

Yue looked up into the large black screen, an unreadable expression on his face.

_I GAVE YOU 24 HOURS. I DON'T CARE THE COMPLICATIONS. IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM AND GET RID OF THE VARIANT IN THE NEXT 21 HOURS…_

_IT'LL BE GRANATOPOLIS ALL OVER AGAIN._

The Commander of the Enforcers sat grimly. Yes, he remembered Granatopolis. That was where they battled the Variant - who he thought was the only descendant of Clow - with Level Fifteen magic. It was early when the Enforcers were less organized and he was only Captain.

The Enforcers kept piling in, but they couldn't beat him. Big Brother wasn't going to sacrifice the entire Enforcers army, so he sent in one last plane.

They dropped a nuclear bomb on the entire city, wiping out the Enforcers they had there and the two thousand people that lived there...

Yue survived because he was the pilot.

"There's 2.4 million People in Carlisle City." Yue stated, careful not to show any emotions in his voice in case it was taken as insolence.

_SO THE WORLD WILL BE 2.4 MILLION PEOPLE LESS IF YOU DON'T BEAT THEM._

* * *

**3:00**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: the scientific concepts are pretty valid, the applications of those concepts is entirely **_**fiction**_**.**

Ermahgawsh such kind reviews! I couldn't respond to guest reviews like I would normal ones, so here goes a general response; _thank you so much for reviewing!_


	5. At the Fourth Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Fourth Hour**

* * *

**3:15**

"The Cavalry I know doesn't kill people!" Sakura sat on the bed, her hands fisting the bedsheets. Syaoran stood in the middle of the room, jaw clicked and eyes ablaze.

Tomoyo and Eriol stood back, shifting tensely near the door. And finally, the last member of the Cavalry, Meiling, was utterly confused. She leaned against the tightly closed door and shifted her gaze between the two arguers as if it was a tennis match. She looked ready to cut in and ask, but never got the chance.

"The Cavalry you knew," Syaoran's eyes were ablaze, his nails digging his palm. "left when you did."

Sakura flinched back as if he had physically hit her.

At this, Meiling's eyes shot towards Tomoyo and Eriol in question. Her red irises widened at their nod, and she peered back at an solemn Sakura.

"I had to." Her voice was so quiet, so sullen.

"You didn't have to anything." He bit back. "You _chose_ to."

"Syaoran -" Her pleading Emerald orbs lifted to search his, but Syaoran was already halfway across the room towards the door. Meiling stumbled clumsily aside, stunned at his dark expression. He wrenched the door open, then he was gone.

**3:21**

"Yue, it's 3 AM." Called a disapproving female voice from the opening of the multipurpose simulation room. She looked like the exact replica of Ruby Moon, long mahogany locks cascading down her shoulder. Unlike Ruby, she had a strong aura to her and a well-built frame.

"Then what the hell are you doing here, Nakuru?" Yue answered clearly despite the haze of simulation aimed daggers at his tall frame directly in the center of the room. Not only that, Yue's form was partially shrouded by the facade of dense fog. Off and on, random figures, simulated opponents with robotic movements and long wooden sticks, appeared around the three meter radius of the commander.

Without warning, Nakuru picked up a gun laying innocently by the supply table near the door, firing five shots in rapid succession.

However, the commander wasn't paying attention to her. He was occupied with a simulated opponent as he dodged and ducked daggers that whirled into existence from thin air.

Nakuru let her arm drop, watching anxiously as the gun gently slid from her fingers and back onto the table where it came from.

She kept her eyes trained on the five metallic blurs aiming straight for Yue's head.

The tall figure whirled, and soon, concentrated silver orbs widened at the sight of the flash of silver. Yue's body tensed, his muscles taut. The five bullets froze in midair, the daggers dangling just around him. He breathed heavily, the foggy air around his figure glowed slightly with the use of plain magic.

But the simulation was still running. The simulated opponent's swung never froze, causing the wooden stick to collide heavily with Yue's back. Caught off guard, Yue's plain magic abruptly pulled back into his being - and the bullets and daggers were whizzing at him again.

His body reflexes kicked in. Yue slammed all six feet of him to the ground, at the same time, knocking out the legs from his simulated opponent.

The bullets aimed past his head and lodged directly into the opposite wall. The daggers hurtled past the fog and into nonexistence.

Yue bounced to the soles of his feet, ready for the next attack.

But it never came.

Nakuru had slammed her fist into a button at the far end of the room with a scowl. Just like that, the room was clear.

With the same amount of ferocity, she spit the words out of her mouth. "Point proven."

Yue whirled around to look at her, finally. He frowned as he dusted himself off. "And what point is that exactly?"

"Do I have to say it? You're the best, Yue." Nakuru rolled her eyes. "Combat, and your control of plain magic is -"

"Not good enough." He interrupted, a dark look crossing over his face and his silvery eyes turning dark grey. At Nakuru's indignant look, he dismissively elaborated. "Not like the Cavalry."

Her brown eyes flashed chestnut for a moment. "_That_ is why you're here at 3 AM?"

"No." Yue answered flatly, striding over to one side of the room to grab his towel and wipe off the sweat from his forehead. He picked up a water bottle, uncapping it deftly. Rather than looking at her, however, he turned towards the far end of the room as he lifted his head to drink.

For the first time, Nakuru noticed the monitors set up by the wall. Curiously, she ambled towards it, barely reacting as the scent of perspiration came at her full force.

"Since you're here, General Colonel," Yue's voice came from behind her. "Make yourself useful."

"Plans." Nakuru breathed at length. Her eyes poured over every detail, every diagram, every letter. Professionalism came first. "You need to give them a wider berth than that if you're going to separate them. Which, one, requires more resources than necessary, and two, I hardly think you need to do."

Yue walked over, dragging the colored dots farther away from each other on the birds-eye map of Carlisle City. "I do." He insisted solemnly.

"You've been preparing for this for a-"

He quelled her protests with a scathing look.

There was a long moment of silence. then, she opened her mouth again. The next statement came out resolved, with an underlying tone of irritation. "You don't need to prove anything, Yue." When he didn't answer, she changed the subject. "Why is the Cavalry is here? We have the strongest hold over this city! They steer clear of Enforcer-"

"The Variant." The commander's voice was quieter as he came to stand next to her.

"That explains the forcefield." Nakuru was quick, that was how she became Yue's direct underling. Her eyes strayed from the holographic screens and to Yue's form. "You weren't practicing," she realized, "you were warming up."

**3:38**

Attempting to ease the tension, Eriol had suggested they go get a 'breath of fresh air'. Of course, Syaoran ended up following them, but kept a safe distance away from Sakura. Tomoyo, at first, had protested at the openness of it all - who knows, more enforcers might be camped outside. Or the city could be on patrol. Not a lot of People will be out and about at three in the morning. It was for the best, Eriol had responded, because they need to find out what exactly Kero did for Sakura to have sensed his magic.

Sakura smiled briefly at the conversation, her troubled mind somewhere else. Suddenly, she was no longer next to Tomoyo. Blinking, Tomoyo stopped and turned, causing a chain pausing of the Cavalry.

Sakura was looking up at the sky with furrowed eyebrows and a far away expression.

Four pairs of eyes followed her gaze to look at the sky too. "What is it?" Tomoyo called out softly.

"Can you see the stars?"

Tomoyo squinted. "No."

"It's a cloudless night though." Sakura waved her arm in the air just to check. She confirmed, "definitely cloudless."

"What are you thinking, Sakura?" Eriol asked, the Cavalry members backtracking to stand with her. Syaoran stood a few steps behind everyone else.

Sakura didn't respond. She formed a half-circle with her right hand, then turned her wrist, making a spherical motion with her hand. Once her palm was facing up, a small white bird floated just above her hand.

Syaoran opened his mouth to object, glancing back at the entrance of the sewers. However, the words died in his throat when he saw what she did next.

Sakura blew softly on the bird. Consequently, the bird flapped her wings and flew off, her feathers glowing luminescently in the night. Sakura's fingers were still raised at shoulder height to guide the bird. Then, at an unidentifiable distance, the magical bird seemingly collided with thin air, suddenly bursting into fire, then disappearing as the ashes fell into the water.

"A force field." Eriol breathed in wonder, his eyes turning to lock in with Sakura's. "That's Kero for sure."

"Do we know how big it is?" Meiling asked wisely.

"We can find out," Tomoyo responded with a knowing smile.

At this, Eriol and Sakura looked at each other, grinning, and saying at the same time. "Sonar."

Syaoran, who still hasn't said anything, only took to standing by the hidden sewer entrance, watching for signs of movement or others who may see what they are doing.

"Excuse me?" Meiling asked cluelessly.

Sakura bent down by the edge of the beach, dabbling her fingers in the water. Eriol turned around to explain to the red-eyed lady, "Sonar." He stated again, using his hands to assist him. "Short for **So**und **N**avigation **A**nd **R**anging. It comes from hundreds of years ago, back in the first World War and used in the second World War-"

"Eriol, I know you're a history enthusiast," Meiling rolled her eyes, "but if you hadn't noticed, I'm yawning here." She side-stepped to try to see what Sakura was doing. "What's she doing?"

Sakura looked up at the mention of herself. Smiling welcomingly at the other Cavalry member, she jerked her head in invitation. Together, Meiling, Sakura, and Eriol crouched by the edge of the water while Tomoyo stood just behind them with a knowing smile.

"Basically," Sakura patiently explained to the curious woman, "what active Sonar does is use sound waves to determine the distance of objects on or in water. First, we emit sound waves to travel across the water. To show you visually," she touched the surface of the water with the tip of her index finger, causing gentle ripples across the water. When she lifted her hand, the tip of her finger was immediately dried. "And when the sound waves touch an object, there's an echo, where the sound waves kind of bounce back." At that, she waved her hand gently over the surface of the water, causing concentric waves to ripple back. "Like that. From those waves, we measure the distance by calculating the time between transmission and reception. But that kind of math I'm sure Syaoran would be better at explaining."

Syaoran perked up at his name, but still no words left his mouth.

"Oh, it's okay, I don't care about the math. But the concept...Wow," Meiling breathed. "I totally get it. Gosh, Sakura, I wish you were around when I was a Cavalry-in-training. Tomoyo was trying to tell me molecular chemistry is what I'm looking for, but didn't exactly explain it. Then you should've seen Eriol, he was blabbering on and on about John Dalton, some atomic theory something, I don't know, and Avocadoes-"

"Avogadro." Eriol corrected her. "His famous essay published in 1811 -"

"Yeah, whatever, Eriol." Meiling shook her head. "You seem really into this whole science stuff, Sakura. Man, I should've known! Especially since you brought up Conservation of Energy when we first met."

"I'm a bit of science geek," Sakura admitted shamelessly. She then turned back to the water, speaking quietly with Eriol before waving her hand over the water again. She sent a sound wave too low for humans to hear under the water while Eriol kept time.

Meiling rolled her eyes, grumbling as she stepped aside. "Alright, I'll leave you to your nerd stuff." She crouched down by the beach a few meters away from the rest of the group, playing magically with the water.

Tomoyo glanced at Syaoran indecisively. He caught her gaze, glanced briefly at Meiling's form, then nodded at Tomoyo. The Amethyst-eyed Cavalry member smiled, bounding over to stand by Meiling.

"You have questions, don't you?"

Meiling stood up quickly, turning eagerly to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo chuckled softly. Quietly, she started, "Yes, Sakura was a part of the Cavalry."

"I think...it makes sense." Meiling bit her lip, nodding surely. "Yeah. You're a language expert, and don't even try to be modest. No one can decipher old documents as good as you, and don't even get me started on how eloquent you are when you want to be. Eriol is a history buff, Sakura is a science geek, and Syaoran understands math like nobody else."

Tomoyo smiled. "Exactly, Meiling. The Cavalry actually started out as a bunch of scholars experimenting with the limits of our potential." A fond smile lifted her lips as she looked out into the dark waters. "Then Sakura had to decide that our skills should be put into helping people. Because, egalitarian society or not, there'll always be someone in need."

"Wait, but," Meiling paused, a thought occurring to her. "Sakura - she's a -" Meiling struggled for words, "you know, People don't actually think well of, you know - I mean, but I do, it's just People don't like…"

"She's a Variant." Tomoyo cut in calmly. "Yes, well, that did put a damper on our name for a while. People didn't want our help when they realized we were with a Variant. So, Sakura got really good at hiding her powers and also learned a few tricks so she wouldn't feel useless when we're fighting."

"Oh," Meiling sent Sakura a sympathetic glance. "but hiding her powers, that's so…"

"Sad?"

Meiling nodded. "How did she get so good at magic then?"

Tomoyo smiled briefly. "The Cavalry actually had five members. She had a mentor, and they practiced in hiding." Her eyes glazed over reminiscently as she gazed out into the water. "He was our Magic specialist."

"Wow all five core subjects were covered." Meiling interrupted with a laugh. Since everyone is equally dosed with plain magic, the schooling systems also include Magic as a core subject to include in a child's curriculum throughout their years of education.

"Yeah. He said Sakura was a prodigy. She caught on so quick, so much so that soon enough, both her mentor and her were experimenting with their powers together."

"What happened to him?" Meiling had to ask. "The mentor? Where is he now?"

Tomoyo frowned out at the water, not meeting the inquirer's eyes. "He's...gone."

"I'm sorry-"

"It's okay." Tomoyo didn't sound at all reassuring. But she quickly turned to rejoin Eriol and Sakura before Meiling could say any more.

**3:42**

"So this is the foolproof plan for the Cavalry. But what about the Variant?" Nakuru asked as she shrugged on her lightweight Enforcer jacket.

"Once we draw out the Cavalry, we draw out the Variant." Yue stated simply as he easily strode next to her. "She's the one who teleported them here anyway."

Nodding, Nakuru passed by a few hallways, her eyes straying by the technology hub of the Enforcers."You think that'll work?"

"If it doesn't," Yue shrugged detachedly. "I'll have 16 hours left over to try different tactics."

Nakuru laughed brashly. "But remember our motto?"

"What do you mean '_our_'?" Yue grumbled with a roll of his eyes. He never agreed to it.

She ignored him, cheerfully reciting, "'If at first we don't succeed...well, _that_ would be a first.'"

In this case, Yue agreed. "I don't like 'first's, unless it comes before 'place'."

"What about 'kiss'?" Nakuru voiced bravely.

Yue paused, turning to raise a sardonic eyebrow at her. Other than that, his face was unreadable. There was a short pause before he shrugged on his coat. "Remember your place, General Colonel."

**3:57**

"15 kilometers." Syaoran, who had drawn his calculations in the sand, stated officially. Still, he refused eye contact with Sakura, avoiding her form entirely. He stood up, waving the calculations away with his plain magic. Grains of sand rearranged themselves into a smooth surface.

"That gives us a pretty wide berth." Eriol commented.

Hearing movement, Syaoran quickly shushed the rest of the group. According to his command, all five figures stilled.

There were heavy shuffling coming from the city, and it was getting closer to the beach. The moonlight wasn't enough to make out the figure, but they were sure it was small. A few more scuffles...it was getting closer.

"Who's there?" Syaoran's strong voice called out.

The figure stopped abruptly, perking up, it seemed, towards them. The footsteps got quicker, and the shuffling got more urgent. The stranger's voice was small and weak, but in the stillness of the night, easy to pick up. "Help...help!"

Sakura was the first to sprint up the small patch of grass separating the beach from the city. The rest weren't far behind.

It was a small girl, no more than six or seven.

She was drenched in blood. Her white knitted sweater dress and grey stockings were stained with splashes of maroon and crimson. She breathed heavily, her feet barefoot and speckled with dirt, grime, and blood. Her light blue eyes widened at the sight of people, and it shone in a sense of urgency and alertness.

The moment Sakura reached her, she leaned against the older woman in relief. She clung onto Sakura's arm, leaving a trail of blood on Sakura's smooth skin.

"Please help!"

* * *

**4:00**

* * *

First: okay, you guys, I never actually know if my story is appreciated or not until someone reviews/follows/favorites. So I am really, really grateful when you actually press the (apparently intimidating) buttons.

Second, all these scientific principles make me sound like a science geek, but in real life, I suck at science.

Third, and **most important to the story**, I haven't decided what to do with Yue and Nakuru yet. What do you think? Together or too weird?


	6. At The Fifth Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Fifth Hour**

* * *

**4:07**

They were running. No, they were sprinting.

It all happened so quick. Once the little girl grabbed Sakura's hand, she dragged her along with a sudden burst of energy. The Cavalry kept up easily behind the little girl's small strides, but they were all so confused. As much as Sakura asked the little girl, she wouldn't explain - Until they reached Carlisle Square, where three teenagers were laying about nursing different wounds.

So here Syaoran was, sprinting along the paved roads behind a bloodied teenager, who apparently was leading Syaoran to his friend in trouble. Amber eyes glanced backwards swiftly. The roads were empty, the sky was still dark, and the buildings were cold and faceless.

"Do you know where you're going?" Syaoran wasn't even panting yet.

"Yeah, yeah," the boy breathed heavily, "it's just up there!" He pointed north.

**4:08**

Each of the Cavalry members had followed a teenager, all running off in different directions. Tomoyo was the last Cavalry left to investigate the trail of blood heading south.

Within minutes, the footsteps faded from Carlisle Square, and it was just Sakura and the little girl.

Her name was Saira, she told Sakura.

Sitting by the marbled fountain at the center of the square, Sakura shivered. She glanced sideways at Saira, who was fidgeting with the hem of her knit dress and biting her lip.

"Don't worry, Saira." Sakura smiled consolingly, and the light blue eyes of the little girl flashed up to her green ones. "My friends will get your friends out of trouble. They're really good at it, they've done it billions of times before."

If possible, Saira looked even more bummed out. "I'm not worried," she shook her head adamantly, "my friends will be fine."

"Of course they will." Sakura nodded in agreeance. There was a beat of silence, in which Sakura couldn't help but try to fill up. "They're called the Cavalry - my friends I mean."

"I know." Saira nodded. She shrugged, glancing up at Sakura then looking away. She swung her legs, visibly relaxing. "But he said I should get four people," she mumbled, "I guess you're here so I won't be alone!" She cheered up at the thought.

"Who said?" Sakura frowned, suddenly alarmed. A bad feeling entered her chest and sunk into her stomach.

Saira gasped, slapping bloodied - which turned out not to be hers - hands to her mouth. She shook her head furiously, her light blue eyes wide and terrified.

"Saira," Sakura coaxed gently, removing the hands from her mouth. "Who told you to get the Cavalry?"

"He told me not to tell anyone." Saira shook her head again, but it was gentle this time, and her light blue eyes were already surrendering.

"I can keep a secret." Sakura convinced the little girl, gently patting down her head and wiping the blood off her face.

"You promise?"

Sakura nodded convincingly.

So the little girl began.

**4:14**

Yue smiled smugly at the display before him. His stood still at one of the highest buildings of Carlisle City, looking over the metropolis. With modern Enforcer technology, he laid before him many holographic screens and 3D topographic maps of certain parts of the city. All of which are live feeds from the Enforcers' secret (and not-so-secret) cameras. They were separated into four sections, each following the path of one Cavalry member.

The brown-haired, golden-eyes sword-wielder sprinting up 34th and Sixth Ave right behind a bloodied teenager, and moving quickly in the northerly direction.

The magician with the disappearing act was following a stumbling teenager towards the Lower East Side.

The paper blades fighter, that woman with the striking red eyes, was spotted in a car moving fast towards the Western Commercial District.

And the lady with the purple eyes, the one who doesn't fight...she's walking daintily and impressively cautiously towards the southern part of Carlisle City.

All were going according to plan.

**4:21**

He should've known - _dammit_ - he should've known! The moment the teenager led him into an abandoned factory -

Syaoran was surrounded at all sides by rough looking adult men and women, who all looked as if they worked out on a daily basis. He whirled in a circle, his eyes constantly moving as he assessed each and every human being that occupied the circle. It also helped that he never kept his back to one person. If he hadn't accidentally counted twice, there were at least twenty people surrounding him. And they all looked dangerously vehement.

_fuck fuck fuck - how could he have been so dumb?! - and he just left Sakura all by herself with the little girl - DAMN IT! The other Cavalry members could take care of themselves. But Sakura - she couldn't let her Variant powers show - and what about Tomoyo? Or Meiling? Eriol probably could just faux teleport himself out of any situation - but Meiling only kept a spare supply of paper with her -_

"We were all equal." One spit out, uncrossing his arms and fisting his fingers.

"Until you came." Another sneered. "The Cavalry." He scoffed, flexing his biceps to warm up.

"You think you're all that. Coming here and saving people."

"We don't need saving. We were all-"

"-equal."

"Balanced."

"_You_ unbalanced the harmony of the world."

"You have yourself to blame for this."

The animosity was unquestionable. Syaoran knew there was no talking out of this, no _walking_ out of this unscathed. He jerked his right hand downwards, his sword materializing within the next second.

But it was useless.

In the same second, yellow laser dots appeared on Syaoran's head and chest.

All twenty men and women were holding a complex black sniper gun in their arm, finger on the trigger, and the yellow laser dot trained on him. Their eyes were cold and hard. They weren't going to hesitate.

Red laser dots were alarming. He couldn't react with his sword fast enough to try to deflect the bullet.

Yellow laser dots, on the other hand, meant surrender. Only a few sniper guns out there had yellow laser dots - and that was only because the bullets were especially customized to move at the speed of light.

**4:21**

"Good thinking hiring radicalists." Nakuru's smooth voice sounded in Yue's ear. "Not so much with giving them the fancy toys, though. Then again, they believe in equality, so they probably won't steal it unless everybody was going to get a FW 67770 Sniper gun."

The commander frowned, not bothering to grace the comment with a response. At the moment, actually, he was starting to regret activating his ear piece. Then again, the little miniscule wire resting peacefully on his earlobe wasn't exactly the one to blame, really.

Instead, he inquired, "are you in position?"

"Am I ever not in position?"

"Am I ever going to get a direct answer?" Yue mimicked her tone, with an underlying annoyance and irritation.

She scoffed, "of course not. Now where's the fun in that?"

The commander was not going to answer that question. Yue checked the time on his thin electronic wristband. "It's almost time, General Colonel." And as he said this, he began to pack up the monitoring station he had set up for himself.

"Why am I doing all your dirty work?" Yue could practically hear the scowl in her voice. "Why don't _you_ run around the city picking up four people?" It was a testimony to their friendship that she was allowed to be so brave against the commander.

"Because I have a meeting." He responded monotonously, glancing around again to make sure he had left no trace on the roof.

"At four in the morning? Holy Clow," Nakuru cussed lightly, "You know normal people sleep, right?"

"Who I'm meeting is far from normal." Yue vaguely responded before their connection was cut off and he was on his way back to the Enforcer's headquarters.

**4:25**

He was thirteen and his name was Josh. He had a stomach wound, but it wasn't going to kill him. No, at this rate, blood loss was going to kill him.

So to help, Eriol had stripped off his coat and wrapped it tightly around Josh's waist to try to contain the blood.

Now they were stumbling East, and Eriol was trying to bite back that foreboding feeling in his chest. It's the buildings, he told himself, they were looked more and more ruined, deserted, and dark as they went on. It seemed like they were venturing into the slums of the city.

The slums. Eriol frowned as he glanced around. It was oddly quiet. Sure, it was four in the morning...but there was always that one insomniac, the one lit up window, the few stray cats, the group of rebellious teenagers hanging around at the wee hours of the morning…

"Doesn't it seem very quiet to you?" Eriol spoke up, causing Josh to glance sideways at him.

Something in Josh's eyes twisted Eriol's insides.

He shrugged. "You been to Carlisle before?"

"A few times." Eriol responded vaguely. After all, he was friends with Yukito, who allowed the Cavalry to hideaway in the Renege headquarters.

The teenager grunted. He fiddled with something in his pocket with one hand, and held Eriol's jacket to his waist with his other hand.

"How do you know where you're going?" Eriol asked, partially to strike conversation, but also because he was truly curious. "You familiar with this area?" Eriol glanced over the teenager's clothing. "You don't seem like the type to live here." In fact, the teenager was wearing a very nice pair of sneakers. One that even Eriol himself had been eyeing for a while.

"Yes. No. I guess not." Josh apparently wasn't a very talkative type. He shrugged again.

"So how do you know where you're going?"

After a momentary pause, Josh answered irritably. "I just do."

_But you said you didn't know the area._

"Wait a second-" The Cavalry member stopped in his footsteps, fully intending to question the teenager.

Josh, too, quickly realized the man's intentions. Abruptly, he grabbed Eriol's left arm. Before Eriol could react, the teenager clamped a silver bracelet onto Eriol's wrist. The flexible steel tightened immediately and latched onto his wrist like a second skin. "What the-"

With his other hand, Eriol yanked at the thin steel. He was trying to take the bracelet off, but it wouldn't budge. It was as if superglued to his skin.

"What is this?!" Eriol demanded, but he was met with a rush of air. Josh sprinted away from him. Eriol growled, balling up his hands to break out into a sprint, too.

One block...two blocks….a sharp corner...moldy buildings...drawn windows.

A slow smirk started to grow on Eriol's face when he began to gain speed. The boy had a knife wound after all. The boy knew, too, for he kept glancing back in panic, his eyes widening when he saw Eriol was right on his heels.

Josh was starting to dart around corners. Left, right, left, left. Did he even know where he was going?

Josh breathed heavily, cussing under his breath when he spotted a chain link fence rising up from the ground and blocking off the other end of the street.

Apparently not.

Eriol slowed down to catch his breath. "Who are you working for?" He called out.

The boy didn't respond. Apparently, Josh was adamant on escaping. He sprinted a full speed towards the wall, jumping up to latch onto the chain link like a spider.

"Oh no he didn't." Eriol grumbled under his breath. He hated climbing. No, fuck that, he'll just use magic. He evened out his breathing, concentrating on separating his bodily molecules so it can fly full speed past the fence and re-form on the other side.

The gentle humming of his plain magic didn't come. Instead, static electricity burst through his veins. Eriol stumbled in his steady walk, crumpling to the ground in pain. His azure eyes burst open, lightning blue in panic and realization.

**4:32**

This was a staged ambush.

The moment Meiling had turned the corner, the teenager she was following disappeared into the shadows and in came a rain of bullets. How did they know?

Meiling somersaulted on the ground, firing tiny paper blades randomly as she dodged the bullets.

_She should've seen it! They all went in separate directions! That couldn't have been coincidence! Ugh!_

Half-sprinting, half performing speedy gymnastics, Meiling was centimeters away from fatal bullet wounds.

_Shit, Sakura! She was all by herself! So was Tomoyo! And what about Syaoran? He can take care of himself...if there was hand to hand combat. But these people seemed equipped with ammunition. Syaoran would be dead in a second when guns were involved._

The small metal objects dug into the ground by her feet and the walls by the sides of the narrow alleyway around her.

_Dammit! _

She was blindsided. She had nowhere to aim, for there was nothing to see. All the snipers were coming from the shadows. She tried to aim where she thinks the bullets are coming from but she can't see much - she was too busy running away from the bullets themselves.

_Oh, and Eriol! _

_Actually, nevermind, Eriol'll be fine. Tomoyo probably will too. Even if she can't fight, she'll use that brain of hers._

Meiling didn't have time to hover on her thoughts, she ducked to the ground, somersaulting again, and quickly dove into a corner. She sat on the ground with her back against the cement wall, catching her breath. She wiped a hand down her face as she breathed heavily into the cold air. It was the only bullet-free lane she had encountered since five streets ago -

Scarlet irises widened in realization and shock. Meiling stood up quickly, but not quick enough.

A single blow to the head and she was out like a light.

**4:52**

It was all dark.

There was shuffling.

And there was a lot of heavy lifting.

Tomoyo was bagged by an unknown kidnapper the moment she followed the trail of blood into a dark, narrow alleyway. She struggled hard, having learnt a few tricks from her Cavalry team members, but to no avail. Her kidnapper was strong, that was for sure.

She had been dumped gracelessly somewhere soft. She felt the ground - no, carpet - underneath her bound hands. She was bound by rope. She could just feel the coarse string digging into her skin.

Heavy breathing.

Tomoyo tried to concentrate her plain magic on the air molecules around her. She increased her sensory skills in her other four senses, now that her sight was no longer needed.

Stale air. She was in some kind of container. Perhaps the back of a truck, or van? Cars nowadays were hard to discern from solid ground, though traveling at the speed of sound, they were as stable as the earth itself.

Either way, that meant the air molecules were being recycled. And (one of) her captor(s?) is sitting with her in the same recycled-air environment.

Perfect.

Tomoyo let a smile make its way up her face.

**4:58**

"Lower East Side, Northern Factory District, Western Commercial District, the Southern Cultural District…" Sakura whirled around in her spot as Saira looked up with wrinkled eyebrows and a frown at the older lady. Forgetting the presence of the youngling, Sakura muttered under her breath. "Should've seen this, I should've - shit shit shit shit. What to do - dammit - what do I do?"

Sakura bit her lip indecisively, her eyes darting at the four different directions. She had to make a choice. She can only come the aid of one of them.

Who will it be?

* * *

**5:00**

* * *

*Insert intriguing question in attempt to increase reader participation but fails miserably with only one or two lovely reviews*

*Sighs miserably*

*writes with a heavy heart*

Special thanks to **Broken Reveries** & **dokiwuvnabi **(aka my only fans.)


	7. At the Sixth Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Sixth Hour**

* * *

**5:01**

Chiharu sat with her chin in her left hand as she observed the man in front of her.

Takashi sat with his arms crossed behind his head, completely relaxed despite the curious gazes. Instead, he kept his dark brown eyes trained thoughtfully at the cavern ceiling.

The comfortable silence was broken when Chiharu blurted, "You don't seem like a pathological liar."

"Hm?" He lowered his chin, clumsily erecting his body into an upright position. Takashi scratched the back of his head with a frown. "Why do you say that?"

Chiharu shrugged, rubbing her soft fingertip against the smooth table. She averted her eyes when she said, "You just...don't. I just feel like I should trust you."

"You've known me for five hours."

"I've known people for five minutes and they've told me more lies than you have."

Takashi shrugged. "Maybe because I've been asking more questions than answering them."

Chiharu shifted her left elbow forward so she could lean forward and still keep her chin in hand. She scrutinized Takashi's tan, structured face. Chiharu tilted her head. "I don't usually feel like I should trust people."

"Does that mean I'm special?" Takashi broke out into a grin.

"Hmm." Chiharu murmured, still scrutinizing Takashi's deep brown orbs. They remind her of warm fireplaces and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Her insights were interrupted when those deep brown orbs flickered away from her. Chiharu looked up to see Naoko shuffling back to them.

The bookworm plopped down grumpily beside Chiharu, who glanced at her without much surprise.

"Welcome back!" Takashi exclaimed cheerfully. To Naoko's surprise, there was no trace of sarcasm, no mocking smile, no smirk, no smug glint to the eye. Just an open grin.

She grunted, flipping open her book with a huff.

"I have to ask," Takashi's deep voice interrupted, "What brings you back?"

Naoko didn't respond so Chiharu did. "This is our table." Chiharu nodded down at the smooth white table. Takashi looked down, too, as if it had some answers. He glanced back up at her with a raised eyebrow. Chiharu glanced sideways uncomfortably. "We're kind of the rebel outcasts."

"Outcasts of the outcasts of society." Takashi quirked a small smile at that. "They don't like Ms. Dictionary?" Takashi jerked his head at the other rebels congregating at other tables.

Chiharu shook her head. "Or a lie detector hanging around them."

"Hm." Takashi settled more comfortably in the chair. "Well, since we have lots of time, and apparently we don't sleep, tell me that Renege story." After a quick pause, he added with a flash of a smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure Naoko will define any words I don't understand."

Naoko glanced up, blinking at the fact that someone - aside from Chiharu - had actually used her real name. When Takashi caught her eye, he grinned. She looked back down at her book with a huff.

"It was a joke." He quietly amended.

Silence.

"I'm allowed to joke, right?"

Again, she didn't respond, so Chiharu trudged on. "I was part of the founding people. See, I was friends with Yukito." Chiharu looked over at the tuff of silver hair and Takashi followed her gaze. Yukito stood in the middle of the cavern, scratching his head with one hand, holding a half-eaten croissant in the other, and puzzling over a holographic screen with a crowd of rebels. "Yukito was honest enough to tolerate me. And nice."

"I'd agree if only I ever get to see that side of him."

Chiharu let out a breathy laugh. "Most of the time. Anyway, we didn't have a name at first…"

**5:01**

Tomoyo rubbed her wrists, the faint texture of rope now visibly purple and red against her pale skin. She frowned at the slumped bodies of two enforcement officers. Tomoyo got on her hands and knees.

_Screech_. There was a sudden jerk that almost threw Tomoyo to the side - but she kept a firm grip on the carpeted bottom.

"Do you copy?" Faint radio noises fizzed out of the Enforcer uniform. "012, do you copy?"

Tomoyo pawed at the carpet, speeding up. If the driver thought something was amiss -

She reached the door just as it swung open, coming face to face with an blue and white Enforcer helmet. The jet black eyes of the Enforcer driver widened at the sight of her.

Tomoyo spurned into action first, jumping out of the vehicle and bolting for the road.

A strong blue and white clothed arm grasped at her arm, pulling her back. Tomoyo wriggled, kicking and even biting. The Enforcer hissed at her, "Oh no you don't." He kept his thick, muscular arm around the base of her neck, the other around her waist.

Tomoyo stilled, breathing deeply. The spot between her brows wrinkled when she focused her magic.

"I should've put this on you first." The Enforcer growled, taking advantage of her stillness and clamping a thin metal bracelet onto Tomoyo's wrist.

Tomoyo focused on her surroundings, trying to feel for oxygen molecules to manipulate - but a pang of electricity shot through her veins.

**5:12**

"So let me get this straight," Takashi, too, was leaning his elbows on the table now. "You all believe in the same cause, but you never act on it."

"We plan." Naoko sounded defensive.

"It just never gets carried out." Chiharu shrugged, "something just gets in the way, a new law that passed, it's too dangerous out there..._something_."

"There's always risk associated with these things." Takashi leaned forward, an irritated wrinkle in his forehead. "You just don't want to take the leap."

Neither ladies answered.

Chiharu finally spoke up, "Anyway, someone said we should be called Renege as a joke. Because we always say we're going to hold a protest, start a movement, but we end up taking our word back. Then Renege just kind of caught on."

**5:21**

"How'd they get you?"

"Magic suppressant bracelet." Eriol frowned, sounding nonchalant. "The government practically gave us plain magic. We shouldn't be surprised they know how to take it away too."

Suddenly, the door open with a loud _clang!_ and a tall, stiff man marched in. The insignia on his uniform quickly denoted him as the commander.

Yue's cold silver orbs swept over the three captives quickly. "Three." He muttered in annoyance, frowning irritably. The commander turned to leave, opening the door just in time to interrupt another's knocking.

"Sorry, the fourth was being difficult." Came a female voice, whom Yue identified as Nakuru. "She was trying to escape - did actually. Knocked out two of my Enforcers _and_ the driver. Good thing I caught her as soon as she tried to run away."

The commander didn't respond, only opening the door wider to let the newcomers in.

Nakuru sidestepped, pulling in by the arm a petite figure. Her hands deftly snatched the black cloth covering the figure's head, unveiling the newcomer. Tousled auburn hair, a scrape of dirt on the cheek, and bright Emerald eyes.

Syaoran's cool gaze immediately turned into a hard glare, Meiling's eyes widened, and only Eriol kept his placid expression.

"That's not her." Yue's reaction was also immediate. "She's not Cavalry, but cuff her anyway." Nakuru did so with a puzzled frown.

Sakura shuffled past the three other Cavalry members, her wrists and ankles already bound by thin aluminum wires. She avoided their stares. She was guided to the empty shackles laying beside Meiling.

As soon as the heavy metal clamped on Sakura wrists and ankles, Nakuru whirled around and marched back towards Yue, in which quiet murmurs, annoyed hissing, and irritated retorts ensued between them.

While their captors were distracted, the Cavalry too talked amongst themselves.

"I told you to stay out of the way." Syaoran growled deeply at Sakura, glaring hard at her.

Sakura stared back stubbornly with a scoff.

"Out of the four of us," Meiling quietly whispered, "why Tomoyo? She can't even fight."

"Exactly." Sakura returned easily, her eyes roaming the prison cell, noting every interior decoration. When her gaze returned to Meiling, she stated confidently, "She'll use her brain instead of force."

"They knew us." Eriol spoke up quietly, and the other three turned to him. "They knew to suppress my magic first, to use sniper guns against Syaoran, and to hide from Meiling's good aim. They knew to separate us."

"It's no secret our abilities." Syaoran returned.

"But to identify us by sight?" Eriol asked, his gaze turning towards the commander. His sharp azure orbs narrowed.

All too soon, the two Enforcers finished their discussion, with the commander issuing an order; _get her_. Nakuru stomped off with a picture in hand.

**5:33**

"Maybe we should start small." Takashi suggested, now sitting with his spine straight and a twinkle in his eyes.

Naoko had forgotten the book in her lap altogether and Chiharu's attentions were arrested on him. "Small." Both repeated dumbly.

"It doesn't always have to be a big movement or a flashy protest." Takashi nodded convincingly, "something small. Like an article."

Naoko scoffed at this. "Look where yours went." Down the sewer, and so did his reputation.

"So it can't be from me." Takashi was undeterred. "But we have lots of good standing journalists here. We can get proof." He glanced at the screen-filled walls. "Looks like you have a lot of it."

Naoko and Chiharu glanced at each other, then at the research-filled screens on the walls of the cavern.

"So? What do you think?"

**5:33**

"Who are you?" Yue asked.

Sakura kept her face cool. "Concerned citizen."

"I'm asking nicely." The commander of the global police force wasn't going to take that. "Who are you?" Yue jerks his head at Syaoran. "His girlfriend?"

Sakura remained silent. Syaoran scowled. Eriol had the audacity to snicker at a time like this.

Yue stands up impatiently. "Just remember, I asked you nicely." He warned. With a flick of his hand, the cuffs holding to the wall opened with a loud _clank!_

Gripping her arm tightly, Yue pulled her roughly towards the door. Now that she was closer to him, he narrowed his silvery eyes at her. "I've seen you before."

"I don't think so." Sakura answered quickly, turning her head and stumbling towards the door.

"What are you going to do to her?" Meiling blurted out.

Yue paused just before the door. And, in his grasp, Sakura turned her face towards them, locking eyes with Syaoran. Their gaze told of unspoken words.

The commander answered emotionlessly, "use your imagination."

"What about us?" Meiling pursued, in desperate hopes to divert his attention to the Cavalry members.

"You can't torture us." Eriol spoke up, half-smirking. "We won't tell you anything."

Yue opened the door, shoving Sakura out - and by her yelp - into another Enforcer's grasp. "I don't need to torture you." Then he turned to a control panel by the wall, levitating the cover open, and flicked a switch.

Out the wall extended five thin metallic tentacles for each captive. Like a wire helmet, they wrapped themselves around the back of each Cavalry member's skull, despite their dodging and wiggling.

Now it was Yue's turn to smile smugly. "I've got technology to do that for me." Yue put in as a last word before he, too, disappeared out the door. It shut behind him with a loud _clang_.

But none of the captives heard it.

Their breathing started to shallow and a horrified expression crossed over all three faces. Their eyes were faced forward, but they were not seeing the black, dark wall in front of them. They were seeing something else entirely.

A long, high-pitched shriek escaped out of Meiling's mouth. She turned and twisted her body, jerking her head as if fighting off demons. "GET THEM OFF! NO! NO!" Another screech.

Eriol gasped for air as another shovel of dirt fell onto his chest fell onto his chest. He tried to wriggle, to shout - he wasn't dead! Don't bury him! A handful of dirt and soil came flying at him. With his mouth firmly shut, he began to breathe desperately through his nose - wait...if he could breathe through his nose..

Eriol was the first to come to his senses.

"It's a simulation." He thought aloud. He shook his head, trying to ignore the pounds of soil trying to fill up his vision. Painfully, he averted his eyes from his greatest fear, raising his voice over Meiling's frightened screeches. "It's A SIMULATION OF OUR GREATEST FEAR!" But when he glanced over, he caught sight of Syaoran's expression.

He was as pale as a sheet, his amber eyes clouded over. Eriol opened his mouth to repeat what he said to Meiling, but he swallowed it down when something in Syaoran snapped.

**5:42**

The moment Yue walked out the door, all he managed to glimpse was something large and silver before it hit him across the side of his head. He flew, sprawling across the ground from the force of the blow. Seeing the object of attack, a 5 pound barbell, Yue levitated the weight away from him and at the petite figure.

Sakura easily swung the levitated weight from its trajectory towards her and into the other Enforcer, who was beginning to get up again. The second Enforcer groaned heavily at the impact.

Sakura whirled around just in time to see the commander get up. Using her momentum, she aimed a sharp kick to the side of his head. He caught the kick, but stumbled slightly. In the same split-second, Sakura quickly raised her other leg. She pulled at the leg Yue caught, so that he stumbled forward, then slammed her free heel directly into his forehead.

Yue's head crashed backwards, head colliding heavily with the wall. He left a smear of blood as he crumpled to the ground, letting go of Sakura's foot.

The commander clawed at the ground, trying to shake the throbbing from his head. He squinted up, trying to regain his senses. Through sideways, blurry vision, he saw her small figure quickly fading smaller and smaller in the hallway.

Yue rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, his other hand gripping the wall to try to retain his balance. He glanced at his left hand, caked with blood, and scowled darkly. "How the hell -" He glared hard at the subordinate, wringing out his left hand in disgust. "I told you to put restraining cuffs on her."

"I did!" The Enforcer, too, was groaning. He held an arm to his waist as he tried to get up on his feet. "She had them on both wrists!"

"Then what the-" Yue cut himself off abruptly, getting to his feet. _Restraining cuffs don't work on pure magic. _"The Variant." He wasn't so upset anymore.

**5:49**

Syaoran struggled violently against his restraints, jerking his body forward - as if to stop something. A deep, rooted fear set in his eyes. A wild look on his face.

Meiling flashed her frightened scarlet orbs between the fear simulation in front of her and her Cavalry companion. "Syaoran? Syaoran?!"

He struck violently against the wall with his cuffed hands and cuffed ankles. Again and calls of his teammates weren't reaching him. He kept his eyes trained forward unseeingly, barbarically trying to break his cuffs.

"It's not real!" Both Meiling and Eriol were more focused on him than their own fears. He struck his handcuffs at the wall again, and the friction of the metal scratched his skin so sharply, it bled. "Syaoran, stop, it's not real!"

_Clank!_ He struck again - his handcuffs shattered to pieces. The force of release caused Syaoran to slump, taking his head out of the thin metal simulator wires. He breathed heavily, blinking at the dark wall in front of him.

Meiling gaped open mouthed at the remnants of rusty metal on the floor. Eriol quickly spotted the traces of ice, then looked at his own cuffs.

Eriol grinned in realization. "Sakura froze our cuffs! So we could shatter them, like ice!"

Consecutively, the three Cavalry members shattered their handcuffs.

Syaoran's jaw clicked, standing up slowly. "She shouldn't be using magic. She's still recovering from teleporting us all."

Eriol didn't respond as the three ran out of the prison cell - pausing to stare bewilderedly at the injured Enforcer on the ground and the smear of blood on the wall.

"Now what?"

**5:57**

Sakura peered through the small window, a smile lighting up her features when she spotted a large golden-haired lion resting peacefully on a lab table. She reached for the doorknob -

There was a tight clicking sound behind her. Sakura cursed under her breath as she slowly turned around, spotting a yellow laser dot on her chest.

"And here I thought I had to ransack the city for you, descendant of Clow." The global police force first-rate commander really was having a good morning.

* * *

**6:00**

* * *

**For future reference, **was the fear simulation part a little too graphic? Or was it okay? I want to know if I should tone down the scariness.

I didn't tell you this, but my goal with each chapter was to keep the word range between 2,000 - 3,000 words. Took me five tries, but I managed to reduce this chapter down to 2,999 words. HOLLA.

**Credits to the book Divergent by Veronica Roth for the fear simulation idea.** My version is not at all like hers, but the inspiration was from her.


	8. At The Seventh Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Seventh Hour**

* * *

**6:01**

Nakuru scowled, muttering under her breath about pissy commanders and annoying girls slipping from underneath her nose. Didn't they know the restraining cuffs also had GPS trackers in them? The Enforcers weren't stupid.

Nakuru followed the GPS tracker to the Upper East Side, looking around as she waited on the corner of Fifth Street and Fourteenth Avenue. The fugitive should be coming down Fifth Street any minute now, or at least that's what the GPS tracker said.

At the sound of slamming doors and whirring of cars starting up, Nakuru was momentarily distracted as she observed the city of Carlisle slowly wake up. A window was opened, white curtains billowing out with the wind along with off-tune humming and the waft of breakfast. Another door down the street opened as a young man stumbled out still fixing his tie, stomping on his shiny black shoes, and kissing his young wife goodbye at the same time.

Nakuru was nearly toppled over from her position as a jogger passed by speedily. She frowned at the female jogger, then at the picture in her hand. Dark hair, pale skin, the right build… "Hey!" Nakuru yelled out, running after the lady. But the woman only ran faster, breaking into a sprint. "HEY!" Nakuru breathed in deeply as she, too, broke out into a sprint after the lady on the street, "STOP! ENFORCER!"

Her yells were starting to gain the attentions of others on the street. A mailman crossing the intersection double backed at the sight, blinking wide-eyed as both chasee and chaser passed by.

"STOP!" Nakuru yelled. Within one block, Nakuru was starting to catch up to the jogger. And halfway through the second block, Nakuru had caught up, shifted her feet skillfully so that she cut off the jogger's path.

Caught by surprise, the woman yelped, tripping over Nakuru's feet, and sprawled over the ground.

Nakuru stood, towering over her with a triumphant grin. "Ha! That's what you get for making me chase you for a block and a half."

The woman groaned, getting to her feet. Her dark brown eyes flashed up to Nakuru in wide surprise - wait, dark brown eyes?

Nakuru looked at the picture in her hands, then at the poor woman getting up from the ground and dusting herself off. "Dammit!" It was _not_ the Cavalry girl.

The jogger took out earbuds from her ear - oh, so _that_ was why she didn't hear Nakuru yelling - and apologized profusely. "So, _so_ sorry! I didn't see you!"

Nakuru wasn't in the mood to act cordial. Rather than answering, her eyes went straight to the woman's wrist - there it was. The aluminum band. "How did you get that?" She demanded.

"Um…" Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at it, "a-a woman gave it to me while I was jogging, she said it helped measure heart rate and steady -"

"Nevermind," Nakuru growled, of course these naive People believed anything anyone said. "just give it to me."

"...um…I don't know how to take it off."

Nakuru scowled for the third time that morning, sighing as she took it off the woman's wrist for her. How did that Cavalry girl figure it out? Nakuru frowned. The Cavalry sure weren't stupid either.

**6:07**

"It's only six and I'm already starting to hit my exercise quota of the day."

Because, yet again, the Cavalry was sprinting. This time, through the halls of Enforcers headquarters. And by the sounds of clanking behind them, the Enforcers weren't far behind.

"Eriol, _shut up_. You're more of a girl than Meiling." Syaoran turned his head slightly to growl at the other man in annoyance as the three figures skidded their way into a steep corner.

Meiling rolled her eyes. "and _I_ don't have an exercise quota."

"The Cavalry shouldn't have an exercise quota." Syaoran responded, then proceeded to cuss profusely as they hit a dead end, slamming a heavy fist at the immovable white wall. He glared at the blue Commonwealth Insignia before sprinting back up the way they had come.

"In case either of you haven't noticed, I wear glasses." Eriol pushed them up to emphasize his point. "I'm basically handicapped."

Syaoran scoffed and Meiling responded, "tell that to the thirty Enforcers we killed this morning."

Before the three Cavalry members could make it into the next hallway, they were intercepted by five speedy Enforcers.

Syaoran easily grabbed the nearest Enforcer's gun by the barrel, shoving it back to hit the Enforcer squarely in the chest. He twisted the gun out of the Enforcer's hand. With his grip still on the Enforcer's arm, Syaoran slammed the man against the wall, then used the gun's heavy metal to strike a hard blow against a second Enforcer's head.

At the same time, Meiling ducked to dodge a blow by the third Enforcer. Skillfully, she threw a well-aimed kicked at the Enforcer's abdomen, knocking him backwards and on the ground. She then knelt on his stomach. But before she could deal the fatal blow, another Enforcer lounged at her. She brought both arms over her head to block his blow. Just as she peaked out from under her elbows, Syaoran had thrown a hard punch straight at the Enforcer's face from her left side.

On Meiling's right side - with the fifth Enforcer already on the ground by now - Eriol caught the fourth Enforcer and effectively knocked him unconscious with a precise blow to the edge of his neck.

Without missing a beat, the three sped into another plain white hallway. Meiling was starting to lose track of where they had gone and where they hadn't gone. Eriol was sure they were going in circles. Syaoran was just doggedly moving ahead.

Three identical hallways later, Syaoran slowed down into a walk as the three Cavalry members looked around at the open junction. There were two hallways on each side, open double doors straight ahead of them, and a less noticeable door to their far left.

Meiling and Eriol, naturally, made their way to the open double doors.

But Syaoran, on the other hand, was drawn to the RESTRICTED AREA sign to the door on his left. Without a word, he moved quickly towards it - causing Meiling and Eriol to sharply u-turn with bewildered expressions.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Meiling exclaimed incredulously when she came to stand next to Syaoran. She gestured wildly at the open doors. "Look at our ticket out! It's practically begging us to leave!"

"I have a feeling about this." He responded vaguely, tapping the thin gaps between the door and its frame, hoping to find some way to force his way in.

"What?" Eriol came to stand alongside them too, scrutinizing security system on the wall. "Your Sakura senses finally working after all these years?"

Meiling hid a snicker under her hand, less brashly commenting, "call it the Sakuradar."

"You two are comedians." Syaoran stated humorlessly while shooting a dark glare at the pair.

Meiling watched the men's backs, worriedly glancing into the hallway they had come from. "But seriously, it won't be long before they catch up."

"When they do, we'll jump out that door." Syaoran responded evenly, "but for now, let's find out what's on the other side of this."

**6:15**

Sakura was as still as a statue. She kept her wide Emerald eyes on Yue's silver ones.

"So I have seen you before." Yue muttered quietly, more to himself than to Sakura. Regardless, Sakura heard his every word. "You were at Granatopolis before I dropped the-" Yue narrowed his sharp silver eyes when Sakura reacted immediately.

"_You_ were the one-" Sakura lurched forward with wide, angry Emerald eyes - but she pulled herself back when Yue raised his gun threateningly.

Sakura glared at the man, swallowing thickly. A long silence ensued as Yue contemplated his actions.

Her stare was broken when a few popping sounds were heard from the hallway door to Sakura's left. She shifted her gaze hopefully at the door, then at Yue's gun.

Apparently reading her mind, Yue growled lowly, "Don't even think about it."

But Sakura ignored him, breathing in deeply.

"You know what a yellow laser dot means don't you? Your magic can't even get from the veins in your shoulder to your arms before this bullet is in you."

"We'll see about that." Sakura narrowed her eyes in determination, her arm was up and extending towards the commander at the same time as he was pulling back his trigger finger.

**6:19**

"Okay, got it!" Eriol signalled Syaoran as he pulled out several multicolored loose wires from the control pad. Both Syaoran and Meiling, having toyed with the right and left edges of the door, threw their weight into it.

It crashed down with a loud _thump! _and a metallic _clank!_ as the metallic hinges collided with the shiny marble floor.

Syaoran breathed heavily as he glared hard at what laid before them. Meiling ran both hands down her face. Eriol leaned his forehead against the wall.

A short empty hallway no more than five hundred meters and another RESTRICTED AREA door.

"For Clow's sake!" Syaoran shook his hands in frustration at the ceiling. "Damn architects-"

His string of profanities were cut off suddenly when a loud blast threw all three Cavalry members off their feet.

Meiling coughed, rolling to her knees, then to her feet. She whirled around to check that the other two men were alright, exclaiming, "What the hell was that?!"

Syaoran growled, clamping a steady hand against the wall to pull himself up. With an annoyed, "we'll see", he turned on his heel and started sprinting towards the direction of the blast. His unreadable expression didn't give away the heavy thumping of his heart and the many scenarios running through his head - and they all came back to one certain Variant.

"You know," Eriol got to his feet easily, "normal people run away from mysterious explosions."

"We're the fucking Cavalry."

"Well, if you say it like that..." Eriol rolls his eyes, leisurely sprinting after the pair. If one were to only observe his face, they would've never noticed how fast his legs were pumping.

**6:19**

"We'll see about that." Sakura narrowed her eyes in determination, her arm was up and extending towards the commander at the same time as he was pulling back his trigger finger.

Suddenly, a blast shook the building, throwing both figures to the ground. Sakura crashed against the wall opposite from the lab door. Yue's back collided against opposite wall, losing his grip on the gun, causing it slide across the floor.

Agile as he was, Yue got to his feet immediately - but so did Sakura.

The Variant scrambled to her feet, running towards the lab window, but golden creature was nowhere in sight.

Both pairs of eyes shot to the gun thrown haphazardly on the ground. Yue dove for it. At the same time, Sakura threw a blast of ice at the gun, effectively freezing its barrel. Then she sprinted towards the hallway doors, using her magic to force it open. Seeing that the gun was ineffective, Yue quickly changed course, darting after the Variant.

Sakura was disappointed to find that it was another Enforcer who had been on the other side of the door. He was still recovering from the blast, getting up slowly. Yue sent him a glare as he passed the incompetent fellow Enforcer. His mistake was looking away from the Variant.

Sakura whirled around abruptly, using both hands to send a blast of ice at Yue.

Yue quickly defended himself with both arms, pushing back with his magic - but plain magic could not compare to pure magic. He was frozen on the spot, clear ice encasing his entire figure. Sakura shot two blasts of ice with each hand at the other Enforcer, gluing him to the wall, just for good measure.

Then she darted out the doors, turning around to freeze it shut - again, just for good measure. She darted out three more restricted area doors before she met an already open one. Sakura slowed down to a walk, looking around cautiously. The pure white door laid flat on the ground. The lock pad from the outside had been toyed with. A few wires dangled loosely.

From the looks of it, Sakura was running in the right direction.

**6:23**

Tomoyo hopped down from her position above the ceiling squares. She was hiding inside the foamed insulation in the structure of the Enforcer building. As she had predicted, the architecture of the Enforcer headquarters was strong enough to withstand the small blast. The only effects were singed floors, walls, and ceilings, and a mini-earthquake.

Tomoyo clapped her palms against each other, dusting herself off. Daintily, she walked a few hallways - now, there's bound to be an Enforcer somewhere…

Aha! An Enforcer who was a little too close to the blast had flown against the wall and knocked himself unconscious. How convenient.

Tomoyo painfully dragged him by his uniform to a closet nearby. As she stripped him of his clothing, she talked quietly to him to ease her own comfort. "I don't usually undress unconscious men, so this is actually highly uncomfortable for me too." She strapped on his uniform on top of her own street clothes. "Looks like we're not exactly the same size." She commented as she tried to buckle the borrowed built at the smallest hole, and tie up the shoelaces of her boots as tight as she could.

Fully decked out in Enforcer clothing, Tomoyo stood up straight, gazing down at the stripped Enforcer laying haphazardly on the ground. "I really do apologize for the cold you'll get later, but a, I don't think you'll fit in my clothes, and b, I'll need my clothes for later." Tomoyo placed the Enforcer helmet on her head. With one last glance at the poor guy, she stated kindly, "thank you."

Tomoyo joined the now populating hallways of clueless Enforcers.

**6:34**

"ENFORCER! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Came an authoritative yell from down the hall. Syaoran cursed, Eriol weighed his options, and Meiling winced. The three turned around slowly to see one lone Enforcer hold laser sniper gun pointed straight at Syaoran's heart.

Both Eriol and Meiling looked at Syaoran, and he glared at them for actually contemplating whether or not they would do okay without him.

"Put your hands on your heads." The Enforcer strode calmly, boldly towards them. The blue and white Enforcer helmet covering most of the man - woman? - head and slightly muffling his (her?) voice. "Turn around slowly."

With furrowed eyebrows the three did as they asked, and Syaoran felt the barrel of the gun dig into his back. "Walk." So they did, the Enforcer guiding them through narrow passages they haven't seen before, and oddly, they were mostly empty.

"How high would the Commander promote me, you think?" The Enforcer lowly contemplated, "For returning to him his prized fugitives."

"Not as high as what we'll pay you." Eriol tried to gamble as his eyes darted around the empty room they were walking into for an escape route. No back door, no windows...is that a mop? Who uses those anymore?

The Enforcer started laughing, then giggling madly. As soon as Syaoran felt the barrel of the gun loosen from his back, he whirled around. All three were astonished to find the Enforcer taking off her helmet -

"Tomoyo!" Meiling squealed, leaping at the woman to glomp her. "Oh my gosh! You had us!"

"Where were you the past hour?" Syaoran, always the realist, demanded.

"I've been setting up the perfect escape route," Tomoyo was unoffended by his accusatory tone. "And the first step is to take off those restraining cuffs." She grabbed Meiling wrist, pulling her restraining cuff side by side with the borrowed Enforcer watch. After a long second, to the Cavalry's astonishment, Meiling restraining cuff popped loose. "If Sakura were here, she'd probably say something about how it all works. All I know is magnets." Tomoyo uttered as she went to work on Syaoran's. She looked up at the Cavalry members. "It's a wonder what you can do just being dressed as an Enforcer."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing." Eriol commented as Tomoyo loosened his cuffs next.

The other Cavalry members looked at Eriol oddly. Meiling was the one to voice, "what?"

"It's a saying, originating from an early religion - Christianity, which had a sacred book called a Bible but incorrectly credited to a Greek whose name was Aesop-"

"Eriol, not now." Syaoran stopped him impatiently, distractedly looking around. "Sakura is still running around in here somewhere."

Tomoyo smiled. "Then let's go."

**6:41**

According to Tomoyo, Syaoran _must_ be the one to go get her. So here Syaoran was, running down the halls towards the greatest commotion. And of course, at the center of it all, was Sakura.

"Sakur- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" He yelled out over the heads of white and blue. Sakura whirled around at his voice, her green eyes finding his amber ones. He lashed out at an Enforcer angrily, then aimed a high kick at another, using more force than necessary.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?!" Sakura yelled back, his reaction to her affecting her mood. She jerked her hand about, throwing energy blasts like a heavy gust of wind to push back Enforcers. She cleared a path for Syaoran, who ran to her with a scowl.

"Why are you throwing around your magic like it's nothing?" Syaoran returned. He broke eye contact to fight off the neverending line of Enforcers closing in on the two of them. "You just recovered from using it!" But his blazed eyes kept returning to her with an annoyed look.

"Excuse me, that was six hours ago!" Sakura returned, understanding his reference to her earlier sign of weakness from teleporting the Cavalry.

"Six hours - you -" Syaoran whirled around, grabbing her shoulders and looking ready to shake her and strangle her at the same time. But seeing something over her head, he shifted the pair of them so that they switched spots. He swiftly knocked an approaching Enforcer unconscious and kicked another in the gut.

He whirled around as soon as both are on the ground to come face to face with Sakura, who had also whirled around to yell at him. "STOP OVEREXERTING YOURSELF!" Syaoran yelled at her.

"I'M NOT WEAK!" Sakura screamed at the same time, then blinked. "What?"

Syaoran gave her a look, frowning at her. He looked ready to say something, but instead, he struck out at an Enforcer approaching Sakura's side. At the same time, Sakura threw a blast of magic over Syaoran's shoulder. They switched positions again, with Syaoran punching an Enforcer in the face and breaking his knee.

Catching sight of Eriol's eye over at the edge of the commotion, Syaoran saw Eriol give him a look and throwing up his palms. 'What's the hold up?' Eriol was telling him.

Syaoran nodded at him. Whirling to capture Sakura's attention for a quick second, he stated urgently. "We need to get out of here."

Sakura threw a wide arc of energy that threw rows of Enforcers off their feet, answering, "Then go! I can distract them!"

"I _hate_ when you say that." Syaoran grumbled, dodging a bullet just as he finished his statement. He grabbed Sakura's arm again, pulling her to him. Another stream of bullets missed her by scant inches just as she threw up a frozen wall.

"What?" She breathed heavily, catching her breath during the break in action.

With her frozen wall surrounding them, the pair finally faced each other without the commotion. Rather than explaining himself, or anything he said in their distracted combat, he quietly and forcefully stated. "We're talking about this later." At the last word - without taking his blazed eyes away from hers - he punched an Enforcer that managed to knock down half of the frozen wall and get close enough to them. He broke eye contact for barely a second to consequently elbow the side of the Enforcer's neck, then knee his gut.

"Right now, WE are getting the hell out of here." Syaoran stated authoritatively, not even missing a beat while Sakura blinked at the unconscious Enforcer on the ground. Sakura opened her mouth as if to say something but no words came out. Syaoran ignored her, keeping a tight grip on her arm while he bent down to steal the unconscious Enforcer's gun.

The pair sprinted out of the frozen cover Sakura made for them and into the fray. Pulling Sakura by one arm, Syaoran used his other end to shoot closeby Enforcers, occasionally clubbing them by the side of the head if they were to come too close. Sakura, stumbling behind him, also contributed by shooting blasts of energy, icicles, and even fireballs here and there.

**6:58**

In one hour, Yue's morning had turned completely around. "FOUR PEOPLE. AND A VARIANT. LAY WASTE TO OUR HEADQUARTERS. YOU INCOMPETENT ENFORCERS - SHITTY PIECES OF - FUCKING SHIT FUCK-" Yue was spewing out cuss words like no other. If he could breathe fire, the whole place would be in ashes by now. As he strode past all the Enforcers picking themselves up and avoiding his dark glare, he swept up a clear path for himself with his plain magic.

The commander punched a nearby wall, accidentally hitting misaimed ice still glued to the wall. He cursed some more, rubbing his red hand. Growling, the commander continued issuing orders left and right.

Yue whirled around to yell at any left over Enforcers running too slow - when he caught sight of the only calm man in the midst of all this. Immediately, his guard went up. Yue strode over to the man, nodding at him in greeting. "Dr. Fujiwara."

The man was short, barely coming up to Yue's shoulders, with grey-white hair surrounding his smooth head. He wore thin-framed but thick glasses perched steadily on his nose. He had thin, stern lips and a hard jaw. He wore a long, white lab coat that tapered off just under his knees. Loose black slacks showed underneath along with shiny black shoes. Pens were tucked neatly by his side pocket while a neatly pressed white shirt collar peaked out over the collar of his lab coat. He barely responded to Yue's nod, still glancing over the damage. "Was that the Variant?" He asked lightly despite the weight of his question.

Yue didn't know why he hesitated. Slowly, warily, he responded, "..yes, and some others."

"Interesting." He nodded, his eyes sweeping over the scene as Enforcers hustled and bustled over the crime scene. He returned his gaze to the commander, a purposeful glint in his eye. "Commander Yue," He smiled warmly, but it didn't reach his flat blue eyes. "I think it's time we have a talk."

* * *

**7:00**

* * *

A/N: I was so tempted to post a new chapter with three words: "IT'S APRIL FOOL'S!" But since I love you all, I didn't, and I actually posted a new chapter.

Crying because I had two goals and I failed both. One; word count (see last chapter's A/N) - this chapter was 4,012 words. Two; (see my profile) I should've posted the eighth chapter before March 31st but it's...April. I failed you all. *crawls into my Box of Shame*

So, I introduced an OC. Yeah.


	9. At The Eighth Hour

**24**

_by Aspirator_

**At the Eighth Hour**

* * *

**7:02**

Takashi's hands flew across the translucent white surface as he typed on the screen keyboard, his concentrated brown eyes focused on the holographic screen in front of him. Words flew from left to right, line after line of sentences and paragraphs formed.

Beside him, Chiharu and Naoko scrolled through other holographic screen in search within the Renege database.

"What about this?" Chiharu spoke up, flicking her fingers so that the content that was on the white table in front of her moved upwards into a holographic screen. She held it with her hand like a sheet of paper, pulling it over to her left so Takashi could see.

He glanced over the chart within a second, then he turned back to his own screen. He skimmed over his own words, contemplating the information. Finally, he responded to Chiharu's expectant look with a shake of his head. "It doesn't support my argument."

Chiharu wordlessly closed the holographic window and focused back on her search in the Renege files.

On Takashi's left side, Naoko's eyes shifted quickly as she looked over her own version of Takashi's screen. She watched live as Takashi typed. She fixed spelling errors, reworded a few sentences, deleted others. She always made sure to keep a sentence or two behind Takashi.

And so they worked studiously, to the curiosity of the other Renege members.

**7:07**

The commander and scientist sat across each other in a plain office. At first glance, there was nothing telling about the heavy topic of the meeting. The commander sat stiffly with a guarded face and a straight back. The scientist, on the other hand, sat comfortably with his hands clasped in his lap.

"You can't kill the Variant, Yue." The scientist was calm, but there was an underlying urgent tone in his voice. "She is the last Variant on planet Earth. Do you realize the meaning of that?"

"Meanings don't matter, Fujiwara." Since the scientist had let go of honorifics, Yue had let go of the man's Doctor title. "Big Brother wants her eliminated. She's a threat."

"To the commonwealth?" The scientist scoffed.

"It threatens the system." Yue spoke in slight annoyance, as if bothered by the fact that he had to explain such a simple idea. "The egalitarian facade."

"Everything threatens the egalitarian facade. It's weak." Only he could've stated such treacherous phrases and not glance around him in paranoia. "It's based on trust and ironically built on lies." His flat blue eyes focused back on Yue's emotionless silver ones. "But this is not a political debate. This is about the Variant. You can't -"

"Dr. Fujiwara," Yue cut in with a dangerous tone, "Are you asking me to betray Big Brother?"

The old man was more patient. He breathed in deeply, letting a moment of silence follow Yue's demand. Finally, he spoke up slowly, "Do you understand why you can't kill her?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

The scientist didn't flinch at the commander's sharp tone. He levelled the commander's glare easily. Then, he stood up, a definitive tone lining his voice as he spoke politely, "Yue, come with me, if you please."

**7:14**

"Hey! There you People are!" the cheerful Renege leader waved at the Cavalry with his entire arm, stopping to stand in front of them with a bright grin. "We set up another room for you five. There's two beds in there," he gestured to the room Sakura was first occupying, "and three beds in the new room, right there." He then pointed out the room right next to the old one. He shrugged as he turned back to the team, "If you want to negotiate who's wher-"

"I'll room with Tomoyo." Meiling volunteered quickly.

"I'm more comfortable with Tomoyo, as well." Eriol calmly smiled.

"Us three," Tomoyo gestured to her left and right, where Meiling and Eriol stood, "then Syaoran and Sakura in one room." Syaoran swears Tomoyo had a little twinkle in her eyes and a mischievous turn to her lips as she said, "How perfect."

Syaoran sent a glare her way, then peeked at Sakura's expression. It was unreadable, but for Syaoran's practiced eye, he spotted a trace of panic in her wide Emerald orbs.

"Oh- okay then! I guess that's settled." Yukito clapped his hands together in glee. "Where've you people been, anyway?"

"Around." It was Syaoran who answered, and the Cavalry members quickly picked up on his vague tone. Though the Cavalry bickered often, they stick to each other.

Eriol shrugged. Tomoyo and Meiling looked at each other, then back at Yukito with unreadable expressions. And Sakura just smiled at Yukito.

"Uh. Okay." Yukito nodded professionally. He lightened his tone, deciding to focus on the positives. "Better around, I guess, than the Enforcer's headquarters or something." He laughed awkwardly after his statement.

Syaoran gave him a dry look. Sakura only smiled and nodded. Eriol chuckled.

"Yeah. Ha ha." Meiling laughed along unenthusiastically.

Yukito glanced at the five again. "Right. So anyway, Carlisle's waking up around this time," Yukito nodded professionally again. "so during the day you all can mingle and go… 'around' again, huh?"

"Yeah." Syaoran answered boredly, turning to head to his room. The rest of the Cavalry trailed after him.

"Thanks, Yukito." Sakura politely ended the conversation in her soft voice.

Eriol smiled politely at his friend, wishing to reassure the Renege leader that the Cavalry will open up to him eventually, but knew he was going to miss some excitement if he didn't follow after his Cavalry members.

**7:19**

"I want no part of this." Rika Sasaki, who held a high position within the publishing firm, stated firmly to the three Renege members sitting in front of him. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing around at the other rebels before re-focusing back on Takashi's gaze. "I don't want my reputation tarnished, I don't want this to bite me in the ass later. I do _not_ want to be connected to any of this."

"You don't have to be." Takashi responded easily. "We'll make sure your name will be miles from trouble and our mischievous plans." Though he meant the last part jokingly, none of the others showed signs of humor.

Rika stared at him some more; biting her lip, her hands in her lap.

Takashi knew she was considering her options in her head. He leaned forward, quietly and very clearly explaining, "listen, Rika...The Renege has always been planning for something, am I wrong?" Rika showed no signs of dissent. Takashi continued, "You all want something to happen. Obviously, none of the plans work. So we're starting small. Uh, like the Snowball Effect: Start with something small and let it gain momentum." Rika nodded slightly. Takashi straightened his back. This is a good sign. "This is small. It's almost harmless. It's just a little article with proof of our theory. All we need is access so we can publish it. That's it." The accused pathological liar paused here.

Takashi glanced to his left and right, Naoko and Chiharu who sat beside him, but they offered no support. They, too, were listening intently.

Takashi took a deep breath. Then he continued, for the benefit of all three women listening to him, "You have to understand how important this is. First, this will weed out the people that agree with us but aren't part of the Renege. Second, this will get the word out there. This is exposure - no, _education_ for the People. So that those who live in their little bubble and don't see what we do, well, we can show them what we see." He paused again, for effect, and for his words to sink in with the women. "Third and last, this is passive. There's no harm out of this - to the People, anyway. People can agree, they can disagree, they can toss it aside and not think about it, they can think about it...no one is being forced to do anything. This way - this plan gives People the liberty to believe what they want and support who they want."

Chiharu and Naoko were starting to nod along with him as they listened. Both turned to Rika, who shifted her eyes between the three rebels.

Rika let out a slow, long breath. She gathered her thoughts for a moment, waiting a long minute before responding. "Takashi...they were right. You are a convincing person. I…" She bit her lip, letting her eyes travel across the cavern, from table to table, rebel to rebel. "I understand." She locked gazed with Takashi, backing up her words with the strength in her eyes. "I understand, but I don't think I'm willing to take that big of a risk yet."

Takashi let out a sharp exhale, but he kept his expression open. He nodded, muttering, "it's okay - it's okay, I guess - I mean, this is really - it's an opportunity for you -"

"Listen," Rika cut him off, pulling out her authoritative voice. She paused for a quick second before continuing in her normal, soft tone. "I may not be willing to take the risk, but I do not want to prevent you," and she shifted her eyes to Chiharu's and Naoko's eyes before returning back to Takashi's. "from taking the risk and _maybe_ doing something...amazing." She ended her sentence with a meaningful nod. Then, wordlessly, she slipped a paper thin card across the table.

Takashi watched the card slide with wide, eager eyes. Unable to prevent the grin with invading the bottom half of his face, he barely contained his excitement as he gushed, "thank you, thank you-"

Rika held up her palm smoothly, cutting him off again. With a warning gaze and an equally warning tone, she voiced, "Like I said, I do not want this to come back to me. No connection to me whatsoever. If an investigation is commenced, I was unaware of all this happening. You stole my access card to publish the article, or I lost it and you picked it up and saw your opportunity, whatever."

Takashi nodded eagerly, grateful 'thank you's rushing out of his mouth.

Rika nodded at him briefly, then glanced over at Chiharu and Takashi, before standing up and walking gracefully away.

**7:27**

The rest of the Cavalry piled in a line against the wall. Before the pair could start their verbal match, Eriol quietly motioned towards the closed door, "Tomoyo, if you'll help me."

Wordlessly, Tomoyo waved her right arm in an upwards motion at the door, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Eriol, too, had his gaze concentrated on the closed door. The air rippled for a moment before settling again. They had effectively soundproofed the room by freezing all molecules passing through the door so that soundwaves couldn't escape.

As soon as the two members of the Cavalry, relaxed against the wall again. Syaoran whirled around at Sakura, blowing up at her, "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"

Sakura opened her mouth, looking ready to defend herself, but Syaoran wasn't done. He ran an irritated hand through his Chestnut locks, effectively messing up his hair, continuing, "Taking a Cavalry's place? Running around Enforcer's headquarters? Throwing around magic like they were fucking-" Syaoran struggled for words, "I don't know, water?!" Because they had an abundance of water in the Commonwealth. "_You,_" Syaoran was gritting through his teeth now, looking ready to strangle her, "and your reckless tendency to save everyone but your goddamn self!"

Quietly, Meiling tilted her head to comment to Eriol, "I can't say I've never seen Syaoran so heated."

"Maybe one day he'll channel it into positive energy." Eriol may have quirked a smile as Meiling laughed, but he was being completely serious.

**7:30**

The walk was completely and utterly silent. They were walking towards the research and technology half of the Enforcer's headquarters...and through several restricted sections even Yue himself hadn't seen.

Yue didn't mind the silence, no, he embraced silence. It was the man shuffling alongside him that gave him the goosebumps. Ever since their first meeting, there had always been something about Dr. Fujiwara that told Yue he wasn't to be trusted. Every time he was around, Yue felt the need to be on guard, watch his words - even his actions.

Already in unfamiliar territory, Yue let his eye wander. Except there wasn't much to see. The hallways were plain white, with barely imperceptible doors. One thing the commander knew for sure was that there were cameras and security precautions everywhere.

Finally, they approached a plain white wall at the end of one hallway - as identical as the rest - where Dr. Fujiwara paused. The scientist turned to an emotionless Yue with an alarmingly threatening expression. Conversely, his tone was soft and even, "Understand that from this point on, what happens here, stays here. What's spoken here, stays here. Only three have ever stepped foot inside. I, Kaho Mizuki, and you." His cold blue eyes hardened as they focused on Yue's silver ones for a long moment.

Yue nodded, but soon realized the scientist was expecting an answer. Keeping his expression neutral, Yue stated clearly, "I understand." But he didn't really, because they were both looking at a plain white wall.

Dr. Fujiwara looked at him for a moment longer before finally turning back to the wall with a satisfied nod. Wordlessly, he placed his hand on the direct center of the wall. Then he looked up, and so did Yue.

The only noise being a single _beep_, a white rectangular part of the ceiling slid away to reveal a rectangular black lens. Through those lens, the machine first scanned Dr. Fujiwara's entire body, then Yue's. A robotic voice seemingly coming from the walls droned, "Dr. Tenorio S. Fujiwara, permission granted. Commander T. Yue, permission not granted."

"I grant permission for Commander Yue." Dr. Fujiwara immediately stated, apparently to the blank wall in front of them.

Yue glanced back down the hallway they had come from. There was no other sign of life.

There was a pause while the white ceiling slab slid back into place. Then the robotic voice from the wall stated, "Commander T. Yue, permission granted via Chief Researcher Dr. Tenorio S. Fujiwara."

A thin crack in the wall split in front of Yue's eyes, the white concrete walls sliding apart with a smooth _tsss_. Dr. Fujiwara stepped nonchalantly down the short flight of metal stairs, and Yue followed right behind him, quickly composing himself.

With each step forward, Dr. Fujiwara activated some sort of motion sensor light, illuminating the large lab. The walls were covered in aluminum and steel, some even had another layer of porous metal. The floor was smooth charcoal marble, both men's steps echoing with each stride.

The scientist was the first to speak up again, "Do you know where we get magic from to distribute to our citizens?"

Yue paused, reluctantly admitting, "no." He had a feeling he didn't want to know. But he had already crossed that line.

"We get them from Variants." As the last word slipped out of the scientist's mouth, he stepped down into another set of stairs. Only this one was three steps, and the moment Dr. Fujiwara's foot landed on the bottom, the entire section lit up.

Right behind the scientist, Yue froze on the second step, his eyes soaking in the scene. Slowly and heavily, he stepped down onto the bottom floor. "This…" The commander looked searchingly at the scientist, who was already sitting down at a silver lab desk cluttered with tools, keyboards, and four holographic screen floating just at his eye level. The commander paced slowly into the lit area, finding his voice again. "So this is what all the secrecy is about."

It was a large circular area, complete with scattered lab desks and holographic screens all around the circumference of the central circular lab. But that wasn't what caught the commander's attention. In the direct center was a cryogenic corpse of the last Variant they caught.

Yue didn't know his name, but he didn't need to. He knew who he was. The Level Fifteen at Granatopolis.

He floated within a cylindrical cell that preserved his body, with dozens of colorful tubes, wires, and machines hanging off of it. In fact, the five meter radius around the cylinder was populated by various machines, floating holographic screens, and even holographs of certain body chemicals.

There was a small three meter wide walking space between that and the rest of the circular area where the lab tables and other research tools were located. The scientist sat at one of the desks closer to the staircase where Yue stood.

Dr. Fujiwara watched Yue's reaction with a sort of satisfied smugness. "Producing magical energy for the Variants is like photosynthesis for plants. They produce it as long as their blood is running through their veins. Now," he clasps his hands together, adopting a voice most teachers use to explain new concepts. "From what we've gotten enough so far from past Variants, it appears that their energy will produce for some time until their blood veins eventually freeze from lack of oxygen postmortem. This is why citizens have so little magic. We don't have that much in the first place, plus we lose some energy in the conversation process from primary body vessel to secondary -" Yue looks at him impatiently. "Right, you don't need the specifics. Essentially, we've tried producing our own magic, or something similar, but we're not quite sure how it all works. Our research area into Variants is still very small considering we never got one alive."

"They're hard enough to catch dead." Yue grumbled.

"Yes, I know about Granatopolis." The scientist stated nonchalantly, eyes sweeping over his research and work. "But that was Commander Shaw's fault. It was bad planning. I believe you are much more intelligent than that."

Yue pinned his inquiring gaze on the scientist, his spine stiffening. "You don't have access to that kind of classified information as a researcher." It was a statement, not a question.

The scientist didn't answer. Rather, he looked back at the floating holographic screens boredly. After a deliberate pause, he spoke up, "Commander, now that you understand the nature of the situation, are you ready to reconsider my request?"

**7:32 **

"_My_ reckless tendencies found Kero!" Sakura had screamed back at Syaoran. Completely ignoring the man at this point, she paced the room. She was barely breathing as she poured out all of the turmoil in her head to her Cavalry friends. "The commander knows we were at Granatopolis. Or at least me. He recognized me. _He _was the one that dropped the bomb!" Sakura ranted, pulling at her hair stressfully. "He _knows_! If he knows I was there - then he knows there were survivors - and - Big Brother knows - and - and he has Kero. He must've captured Kero at Granatopolis -" Sakura whirled around to meet Tomoyo's eye, looking for confirmation, "that's where we last saw him, right?"

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Tomoyo answered wisely.

"He has Kero." Sakura emphasized, stomping her foot. "I saw Kero in-in -"

"Was it a prison cell?" Tomoyo softly asked.

"...no." Definitely not. "But - they could be pampering him for...I don't know. It was big, and there were machines, beakers, lab tables - it was a lab."

"Kero did set up that force field." Eriol stated as a matter of fact.

"They're using him!" Sakura raised her hand to physically throw out the idea.

Tomoyo opened her mouth to reiterate that they shouldn't jump to conclusions, but Syaoran beat her to it. "Wait a second," Syaoran stepped closer, "you replaced Tomoyo so you could get in the Enforcer's headquarters to break free and just run around looking for our little magical friend that we're not even sure is in the Enforcer's headquarters in the first place?"

Sakura hated when Syaoran sees right through her. "I - well - _now_ we know he's there!" Sakura fumbled for a response, crossing her arms stubbornly. "And I had to make sure he was okay!"

"Damn hero-complex." Syaoran growled, dragging a hand down his face. "We had to go back in there to get you, you know that?"

"I could've gotten myself out!"

"Oh really?" Syaoran scowled, crossing his arms to mirror her stance. "What were you going to do? Freeze the entire Enforcer army? You'll faint before you make it to the goddamn doors."

Sakura set her jaw, refusing to answer him. She only pulled her crossed arms tighter and huffed.

Nevermind her silence, Syaoran could go on preaching to her. "You were so close to-" Syaoran cut himself off before he could launch into another heated speech. He clenched and unclenched his hands, pacing about the room. Then he whirled to glare at Sakura, "The commander could've killed you! He could've - you know what you are!"

"What I am?!" Sakura repeated incredulously, marching up to Syaoran exuding a mixture of hurt and anger. "It's not a disease, Syaoran!"

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Sakura." Syaoran used that quiet, modest tone of his. Yes, Sakura knew. He, too, strode forward so they faced each other, but he kept his distance. "What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything!" Sakura agitated response didn't help her case.

Syaoran wasn't convinced, nor was he keeping his cool. HIs voice rose considerably as he continued, "You take Tomoyo's place, _without a plan_, trying to save the day or some stupid - then you throw your magic everywhere like it's going to solve everything - What are you trying to prove, huh?"

Sakura's hands clenched into fists by her side as she tilted her chin upwards to send Syaoran a strong glare. "So what if I take Tomoyo's place? So what if I use my magic to fight? I'm not weak!"

"I never said you were." Syaoran levelled her look with a steady, confident gaze. "Nobody here thinks you're weak."

Sakura swallowed thickly. "I...I...what's it to you, anyway? Why do you care?"

It wasn't like Syaoran was going to answer, so Eriol meddled, "It's just his way of saying he's worried about you."

Syaoran reacted quickly by whirling around to glare hard at the other Cavalry male. "I'm _not_ worried about her!"

"Then what are you saying?" Tomoyo lightly asked.

"I'm just - I was just - ugh!" Syaoran stuttered and stumbled. Finally, he just turned around to face a confused Sakura again. "What kind of - just walking into the Enforcer's headquarters like that - You dropped yourself straight into - what does Eriol call it? - the tiger's den!"

"It's lion. Lion's den." Eriol cheekily corrected.

"Yeah, that! You just volunteered to come face to face with death for what? For a little magical fucking -"

"The _only_ magical creature on Earth!"

Eriol, surprisingly, interjected again. Shaking his head, he spoke up, "actually, history dictates that-"

"NOT NOW, ERIOL!" Both Sakura and Syaoran screamed at Eriol.

At least Syaoran was the first to put in his word after their synchronised yell. "You're an idiot!"

"Oh, _that_ sounds like concern." Sakura sarcastically called over his shoulder at Eriol, then returning, "_I'm_ the idiot? I'm the reason you got out of that torture chamber in the first place!"

"That was brilliant, by the way," Eriol put in, "freezing our cuffs and all."

"Thank you," Sakura tilted her head slightly, smiling sweetly at the history-enthusiast, "Eriol." She turned back to Syaoran with a pointed look.

"You shouldn't be using magic in the first place!" Syaoran yelled back at her.

"Unbelievable!" Sakura threw up her arms, then threw them down as she tilted her chin up to look at Syaoran properly. "I can't ever please you, can I?"

Syaoran stepped closer, his voice suddenly low, "Why would you want to?"

Sakura opened her mouth then closed it. There was a long moment of silence as the pair locked gazes. Whatever the two saw in each other's eyes, apparently they both agreed on it.

Simultaneously, the pair reached for each other. Sakura's hand trailed up his cheek then wound around his neck as the other hand was lost in his silk-smooth hair. Syaoran gathered her in, his arm pulling at her waist desperately, crushing her close to him.

Meiling's mouth dropped open, Eriol blinked in surprise, and even Tomoyo's lips parted slightly.

The pair engaged in a chaste, passionate kiss. For one quick moment, nothing else mattered. It was just Syaoran and Sakura. It was as if all the years they spent apart came crashing like a wave over them as they pushed themselves at each other passionately. And again, it came like a wave as Syaoran breathed Sakura in deeply. They were just diving in, letting their hearts win, _for once._

"That..." Eriol shifted his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, always one to put in his word, "...escalated quickly."

But it was short lived. Syaoran mind surfaced over his heart, again, as he abruptly let Sakura go. She stumbled, back, letting go of his head and grabbing onto his shirt for balance. They were both breathless, and for a short second, they stood there staring at each other. Her bright Emerald eyes wide. And his intense amber eyes a dark golden hue. Syaoran stepped back once more, and Sakura let go of his shirt.

Breathlessly, Syaoran didn't look at her as he uttered barely above a whisper, "what am I doing?" In a whirlwind, he was out the door, out of sight.

**7:33**

Yue turned the scientist's words over in his head. Finally, he voiced in clarification, "You want me to get her alive so she could be your lab rat?"

"Yue." The scientist shook his head at the brute way Yue phrased his request. "You understand why we need Variants now, don't you? The Variant is the last person on Earth left who can produce her own magical energy. We need her." He taps the machine. He walks over and looks at some charts. "The People need her. People like their little bit of magic, Yue. If we take it from them," he shakes his head, "it will not be pretty. The Commonwealth is going to collapse on itself."

**7:36**

"What's going on here?"

Takashi, Naoko, and Chiharu jumped at the voice, turning around to meet the inquiring gaze of Yukito. Both his eyebrows raised at their reaction. He stuffed the donut in his hand back in its paper bag, folding it over, and setting it down at the corner of the table.

The trio watched the Renege leader as he walked around the table so he stood across from them. His expression turned completely serious as he sat down. He pulled the floating holographic screens that separated them down so that they sat perfectly flat on the table and out of the way. "I heard some concerning comments about you three." He paused, watching the three's reactions. Especially Naoko's downcast chin and Chiharu's bit lip and shifty eyes. Takashi on the other hand was completely composed, looking right back at him steadily. Yukito shifted his gaze back to Chiharu. "Like you are about to do something dangerous."

"I don't think it's dangerous." Takashi immediately responded.

Chiharu made a humming noise, glancing sideways at Takashi.

Yukito raised his eyebrows again. "You have a lie detector sitting next to you, Takashi. I would watch what I say."

Takashi smiled, "yes, _Chiharu_ is sitting next to me, and she was right. Maybe I think it's a little dangerous, but it's only a small article."

Chiharu coughed.

"A small but significant article." Takashi corrected, glancing sideways at Chiharu. The woman didn't meet his eyes.

Yukito sighed. He leaned forward slowly, his eyes shifting constantly between the three. "Listen, no matter how small, how big - no matter the magnitude, as long as it hints of rebellion against the government-"

Takashi immediately cut in, "It doesn't-"

But Yukito quelled him with a look. It's no wonder he became leader of this group, he had a natural talent for leadership. "There's a reality you need to face, Takashi. And you two, Chiharu and Naoko, need to listen carefully to this. We can look on the bright side all we want but we need to understand the reality here. Once you get the article out there - not even - once you step out into Carlisle city with that article in your hand, you're in danger. Rule number one -"

"Big brother is everywhere." Naoko monotonously recited.

"Yes." Yukito nodded, "the Enforcers will find out and they will find you. Now matter how clever your scheme, how encrypted your codes, they _will_ find you. You don't want to know what happens after that."

Seeing that the Renege leader has finished what he needed to say, Takashi spoke up, "This is just a little, harmless article that'll get the idea out there -"

"That's the problem, Takashi." Yukito cut in gently. "Ideas can be threats to the government too." Seeing Takashi's disagreeable look, the Renege leader continued in an amiable tone. "I'm not trying to stop you, Takashi. I'm just telling you the situation here. I don't want you," and his eyes shifted to Naoko and Chiharu, "to be blindsided when you go out there. I just want you to understand the reality of the situation you're going into, here. Alright?"

Takashi nodded, his steady gaze never faltering. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Soft grey eyes locked in on steady mahogany ones. After a moment, Yukito nodded, "so be it." He glanced at Chiharu, then Naoko, "what about you two?" Here was their chance to back out.

The Renege leader was met with silence.

Yukito sighed, looking between the three. His eyes then returned back to Chiharu. Quietly and politely, he requested, "Chiharu, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Chiharu nodded, "sure." And the two stood up, walking away from Naoko and Takashi. Though both followed the Renege leader and rebel with their eyes, they made no motion to attempt eavesdrop.

As soon as Yukito believed they were far enough away, he rounded on Chiharu. Quietly, he gently asked, "Are you sure this guy is trustworthy? He's asking you to participate in something dangerous."

"But it's _something_." Chiharu emphasized, mimicking his quiet, near-whisper tone, "we're finally acting, doing something. For once!"

"Chiharu…" The Renege leader sighed. "Yes, we are. We are," he agreed, and Chiharu knew a 'but' was coming. "But it has a price. Remember, rule number ten -"

"Everything has a price." Chiharu quoted, nodding. "Yes, I know."

"Do you?" Yukito questioned softly, his soft grey eyes searching Chiharu's. "Do you, Chiharu? I'm concerned for your safety. You have a future, Chiharu. I don't want…" He glanced back at Takashi's figure.

"We'll be careful." Chiharu reassured him.

"Careful isn't going to be enough." Yukito retorted seriously.

The two locked eyes for a long moment, until Yukito sighed. He tilted his head back towards Takashi's and Naoko's general direction. "Alright, go - but -" Yukito stopped Chiharu's already turning figure, "be more than careful. I mean it, Chiharu. You have a life ahead of you, you don't want to ruin that."

Chiharu nodded at Yukito with a sincere smile.

**7:38**

Sakura was still catching her breath, staring out the door in a pained expression. Dazedly, she backed up until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed. Slowly, she sat down, staring blankly at the opposite wall.

Meiling glanced at Eriol, but he was already silently communicating with Tomoyo. Tomoyo nodded at Eriol. Taking the cue, Eriol squared his shoulders and walked out the door, following after Syaoran's path. Then, the responsible Cavalry member smiled faintly at Meiling, gently tilting her head towards the door.

"I'll go find something to do." Meiling quietly muttered, passing a grateful Tomoyo and closing the door behind her.

Gently, Tomoyo sank down on the bed next to Sakura. The only noise between them was the quiet inhale and exhale of breath. Then, Tomoyo spoke up softly, "Why couldn't you have teleported yourself out, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at her, pondering the question for a long moment. With a weary gaze in her vivid Emerald eyes, she answered, "I didn't want to run anymore."

"Sakura," Tomoyo breathed heavily, choosing her next words wisely. "The moment you stop running is the moment the People start accepting Variants."

Sakura didn't answer. She looked down at her toes. There was another long moment before she finally spoke up. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't understand him."

"Who does?" Tomoyo answered with a small smile. She shifted, causing the bed to shift a little also. "Sakura...you didn't expect everything to go back to normal when you called us back, did you? It's been years, Sakura. And you just...you up and disappeared on us last time. You didn't expect us to -"

"No, no. I just…I don't know what I expected." Sakura looked at Tomoyo's soft, comforting Amethyst eyes. "I guess, maybe how you and Eriol are now. A professional, polite distance." She laughed lightly as she looked away again. "Yeah, I noticed. Of course we're not gonna just go back to normal like those few years hadn't happened. But Syaoran..."

"With Syaoran," Tomoyo swung her legs a little, again, choosing her words wisely. "All common sense goes out the window when it comes to you, Sakura."

**7:41**

Naoko scanned the article one last time - her umpteenth proofread. She tilted her chin downwards barely a centimeter at Takashi, who saw her stiff movements with concern. First, however, the journalist stored the articled in a tiny microdrive, a storage device the size of his thumb.

Then he turned to his editor with his full attention. "Naoko, is something bothering you?"

She didn't answer at first, hiding behind her bangs. Then she swallowed thickly. "I just...I don't think…"

"What is it?" Takashi gently urged her.

There was an excruciating pause as Naoko worked up her nerve. In a small voice, she stated, "I don't know about this."

Takashi blinked. He glanced at Chiharu, who coincidentally glanced at him. Then he turned to Naoko. "It was something Yukito said, wasn't it?"

Naoko didn't answer, but the way she averted her eyes answered for him. "Maybe-Maybe he's right…the world's not ready."

"The world's not ready, or you're not ready?" Takashi retorted, his ever firm gaze on Naoko, sending her a meaningful look.

At that, Naoko looked up at Takashi through her thick frames, her bangs no longer hiding her eyes. She was terrified.

Takashi turned around to fix his jacket, pocketing the microdrive. In a subdued voice, he stated, "it's okay. You don't have to be a part of this. I won't force you to do anything."

Naoko hesitated, shifting her feet while she stared at Takashi's back. Then she looked at Chiharu, who didn't meet her eyes.

Quietly, she shuffled away, glancing over her shoulder intermittently.

There was a long moment of tense silence.

Finally, Takashi looked up to meet Chiharu's eyes.

He didn't have to say anything. She did.

"I'm with you."

**7:45**

Eriol knew he wasn't going to be heard if he had tried to counsel Syaoran like he knew Tomoyo was to Sakura. But there was something he saw back there, an irrational fear that surfaced during Syaoran's argument that he wanted to confirm.

"Syaoran." Eriol called out seriously, quickly shifting his feet to cut off the other man's path. Those frustrated Amber orbs focused on his sharp azure ones. "What did you see in the fear simulation?"

The reaction was immediate. Syaoran's jaw clicked, his eyes flashed to a bright yellow flame for a quick second. "That's none of your business." He snapped, turning to stalk away.

"As I thought." Eriol lowered his chin, his suspicions already confirmed by Syaoran's tiniest muscle twitches.

**7:49**

"Can't you glean enough magical energy from her dead body?" Yue asked with a reluctant frown.

The scientist's flat blue eyes flashed in momentary annoyance up at Yue's silver ones. But he composed himself quickly. "I suppose, yes, to last us another decade. What then?" He shakes his head. "We're not going to have this forever. We'll run out eventually."

"She'll die eventually."

"Yes, but not before we've really researched deeply into how magic is produced. Is it some sort of mutation that makes a Variant? How does that mutation affect their body chemistry? You understand?" The scientist sat down again, "And not before we store a lot more of her magic during her lifetime."

Yue paused considering this. "If I let her live, even if it is becoming your lab rat, I will still be betraying Big Brother." And he's seen the consequences of that: complete demolition of his mind, body, and soul.

Much like how he had dealt with everything else, the scientist was calm, poised, and didn't miss a beat. "Everybody has choices to make, Yue."

* * *

**9:00**

* * *

**A/N:** (Blimey, this chapter was LONG!) Hopefully, this clears up the muddle over Syaoran; showing that he doesn't hate her, he's just really conflicted over her. And Sakura is just so confused, as we all are now.

And also I casually addressed a plot hole that has bothered me since chapter two. Thankfully, nobody else caught it - or called me out on it.


End file.
